The Bat and The Ice Queen
by MultiHydralisk
Summary: Weiss Schnee awakens to find herself in the darkness of Gotham City with no memory of how she arrived. A chance encounter with the Caped Crusader lands the heiress in the middle of a twisted plan courtesy of the Clown Prince of Crime. The duo plunge into the depths of Arkham Asylum to foil Joker's secret plot and hopefully bring Weiss back home. (Adopted from DiRunner)
1. It All Started On A Rainy Night

_**It's been quite some time hasn't it? I know I've been gone for a while but I have a good *scream as I duck, a large knife lodged in the wall over my head* I'm so sorry! Real life got in the way. Between my last update and this one, I graduated from college and have been going over applications in an effort to get my career aspirations off the ground. It's been a wild ride, but not once did I ever forget about the people following me. I was constantly brainstorming ideas in an effort to bring my other story Otherworldly back into focus, and progress is being made. I have also adopted two more stories in the mean time. The first is The Bat and the Ice Queen by the talented DiRunner. This is a tale where Weiss of Team RWBY finds herself in the Batman Arkham Universe. The second story is The Z Fighters Reacts to Death Battle by JLyman. I wanted to do my best to bring these stories the love and attention that I could. Other stories I've been keeping in note form could come to fruition soon, so maybe that could be a wonderful surprise in the future. Meanwhile, on with the show!**_

"My, my! Bats old boy! I didn't realize you were in the market for a new birdy! And to think after I clipped the wings off your last..."

"Quiet!"

"Oh must have touched an old nerve. You must have a few of those by now..."

Two voices woke up the unconscious Weiss Schnee as she tried to get her bearings. She knew that she was moving and that she was in a car with two bizarre individuals that seemed to have a history together. Realizing that she was stretched out in a back seat, Weiss tried to sit up.

Trying to shake off whatever fog was clouding her mind, she said aloud, "What is going on?"

Suddenly, the figure in the front passenger seat quickly turned around. The figure was dressed like a clown, albeit a very scary clown. He had a pale white face with shocking green hair and he appeared to be wearing a purple pinstripe suit with a yellow under shirt and a neon green bow tie. The suit itself looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks and it certainly smelled like it too. Weiss wasn't sure what she was smelling. The entire inside of the car reeked of gunpowder, sweat and... banana cream pie? She wasn't so sure of the last one.

But the thing the figure frightened her the most was his smile. It wasn't an ordinary smile but the smile of a deranged mad man. It looked like he used lipstick to create a permanent smile on his face. Or Weiss hoped it was lipstick. She shuddered at the thought.

The figure finally spoke to her in the previously nasally high voice. "Well hello there, sleeping beauty! It's about time you woke up! I was afraid you would have missed the party!"

The figure belted out an insane laugh as he threw his hands up in the air. Weiss caught sight of handcuffs around the individual's wrists. Weiss felt her wrists were being weighed down by a foreign object. Her eyes widened to find that she was in handcuffs as well!

"Officer! I demand that you pull over this car and free me from these restraints!"

The figure driving made no such attempt to stop or slow down.

Weiss' patience wore thin. "Um excuse me? Do you not know who I am? I'm Weiss Schnee!"

The figure didn't stop to turn around.

"You know, daughter of Jacques Schnee? Famed heiress of Schnee Dust Corporations? Any of this ringing a bell?" Weiss' voice started to grow hoarse from the yelling as she noticed that the this mysterious driver didn't even pause when she said who she was.

The clown individual gasped in shock. "Bats, didn't you hear what she said? She's a Schnee!"

Weiss was a bit surprised at this person but grateful that someone knew who she was. "Why thank you sir. At least someone knows...

The clown cut her off before thanking her. "Come on Bats, if you upset her daddy then he'll make you... bite the dust!" He erupted with more maniacal laughter as the driver just grunted.

Weiss groaned. Yang's jokes weren't this bad. At least she put the minimal effort into hers. This man just laughed about anything. She tried to settle into her seat when she noticed that the quiet driver's silhouette was quite different than an usual officer uniform. It almost looked like two long horns were coming out of the top of his head. Was he a Faunus? she thought to herself. Which could explain his silence when she said she was a Schnee. Her father wasn't very popular to the Faunus population due to his standings on them in general and the treatment of them in his Dust mines.

Weiss sighed to herself as she tried staring out the miniscule car window, hoping that she would try to recognize where she was at. It seemed like they were driving by a city, but none that Weiss recognized. The city itself seemed large and well-populated and had an air of gloom permeating its core. Weiss was confused. This didn't look like Atlas or Vale and she was sure that Mistral had a different city aesthetic. Weiss kept looking for something familiar until she saw the moon. She gasped at the moon due to its wholeness. Panicking, she tried to calm herself down. Surely she must be dreaming right? Remnant's moon was shattered,as bits of it still clung to its orbit.

Mustering up the courage, she cleared her throat hoping to get the attention of the driver or the clown. "Excuse me driver, but where in Remnant are we?" The driver remained silent, only slighting turning back at Weiss. Bright blue eyes bore into her pale blue ones. It was intimidating as Weiss regretted saying anything to him. Unfortunately for Weiss, the clown spoke up in his stead.

"Why Miss Schnee, you don't know where you are?" the clown crooned at her like she was a tempting mistress. "Why this is the best city on the planet! Gotham City! Where freaks like me and Bats can run around and terrify the people!" He laughed again without restraint.

Weiss was still confused though. "And what planet are we on?" Weiss asked quietly. The horned driver turned his gaze onto Weiss again. This time his eyes were not filled with intimidation but intrigue.

The clown laughed up a storm. "Wow Bats! Not knowing she's on Earth and doesn't know Gotham. She must be as crazy as us!"

Weiss was perplexed. She wasn't in Vale or any other city in Remnant. She wasn't even on Remnant anymore! This was crazy. This must be some fever dream or something like that. She just had to wake up and she would be in her dorm with her friends as they got ready for the Vytal Festival...

Weiss started to tremble as the fear of her not being on Remnant got to her. How would she get home? How did she get here in the first place?

And then a low voice growled out from the driver's seat. "It's okay if you're scared. Hopefully we can find you the help you need."

Weiss raised an eyebrow in defiance. "Scared? Please, I'm a Schnee. I'm more annoyed that someone like me has to share the same space as a maniac in the front seat. If you must know, I'm more annoyed than scared," she said haughtily.

The clown let out another laugh. "Ouch Bats, you're going to let her speak to you like that? I haven't seen someone give a cold shoulder like that since Freeze turned that banker into a popsicle!" Another laugh was heard from the passenger seat.

Weiss crossed her arms and tried to get comfortable. Or as comfortable can be in a car with strange people.

Weiss heard a tutting sound coming from the seat in front of her. "Oh come on Ice Queen, don't be like that! Don't be so cold to your new best pal, the Joker!" The newly dubbed Joker flashed a bright toothy smile in her direction.

"Weiss froze up when she heard that nickname. That was the same name everyone else at Beacon called her when they were joking with her.

"Don't call me that!" Weiss cried out. The Joker feigned having his ears hurt as he pretended to rub that.

"Sheesh Ice Queen, you don't have to be so loud. Batman has sensitive hearing." The Joker said. He started to rub his chin as if in thought. "At least I know you respond well to Ice Queen." The Joker started to giggle. Weiss was really starting to get tired of Joker and his constant laughing. "Hey Bats, help me think of new names for your new sidekick! Let's see we have Ice Queen, Whitey, Blizzard Brat, Snow White..."

"I said be quiet!" The now called Batman yelled out, as if to silence both passengers. The Joker ignored him and continued. "Well if you're going to be like that, maybe I won't help you pick a name."

The rest of the car ride was thankfully silent, except for the Joker humming a noteless tune. Weiss thought to herself that for an insane criminal being shipped off to wherever they were going, he was certainly in a good mood.

Occasionally, she would catch this Batman, taking periodic looks at her through his rearview mirror. Weiss was unsure why this guy kept staring at her. It was hard to read his gaze.

Rain started to come down in torrents as the car zoomed through it, as if it was nothing. Weiss started to get worried about her teammates. She wondered if this Batman knew Ruby, Yang and Blake. Maybe he was taking her to them? A flash of lightning lit up the road and illuminated two road signs up ahead. She could only make out the top sign as it read, 'Arkham.' Weiss pondered what the heck Arkham was. It certainly didn't look like they were anywhere on Remnant. Was she really on a different planet?

Her train of thought was interrupted by the Joker's constant mutterings about a bomb or something like that. Trying to ignore him was a difficult challenge. As the car drove through a series of gates, Weiss saw a word that shocked her. On a gate, it read 'Arkham Asylum.' Did this Batman character think she was crazy? She couldn't be. Not when she was sitting behind the personification of insanity. Compared to him, she was a saint. But why would she compare herself to a criminal anyway? She tried shaking off these negative thoughts in her head.

But abruptly, the car came to a stop. Batman got out first as he was the only one not restrained. The passenger door opened as the Joker was forcefully grabbed and pulled out of the car. Weiss waited for the brute to pull her out. Instead the door opened up and the Batman's gloved hand was reaching for her. Thanking whatever god, she accepted the oddly gloved hand as she was pulled out into the still-brewing squall.

Weiss tried to get a better view of this Batman but it was quite difficult as the dark storm clouds blocked out any light. The only other light that was available were dim lights coming from the nearby building. From what she could make out, this man was no Faunus. He was tall and intimidating of course and the horns she thought were horns were just ear-like appendages that were part of an elaborate cowl. Lightning flashed as Weiss finally saw his face. It was stern looking and the eyes of the cowl looked like they were made to have a perpetually scowl. The only part that wasn't covered by the cowl were his piercing blue eyes and a neutral mouth covered in a 5 o'clock shadow. Or whatever time it currently was.

As they slowly got closer to the building, more light was shone on this Batman. He was tall and well-built, muscles sealed under a tight fitting costume. The costume itself was impressive. A dark grey costume, accented with black boots, black gauntlets and the cowl itself was black as well. A long cape was attached to the cowl too. And of course it was black. Weiss then noticed a large symbol in the shape of a bat. Looking him over, she could see why people called him Batman. He resembled a large bat. A man bat, Weiss thought to herself.

Weiss looked at both the Joker and Batman and couldn't decide who was crazier. Though the Joker was obviously insane, there was something about Batman that Weiss didn't understand. Why dress up like a giant bat? Sure it was scary but this didn't look like the first time he was doing this. Honestly, what kind of person has that much free time to go around and fight crime? Weiss sighed to herself. Yang would totally be on board to fight criminals in costume.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a gruff voice. "We have to get moving. I don't have all night." Weiss didn't realize that Batman was standing right behind her. She jumped back in fright, before regaining her composure.

She coughed a little and said, "Very well then. I hate to be stuck out in this kind of weather anyway."

The Joker made a small giggling noise behind her. "Oh is the poor Ice Queen going to melt in the rain? Afraid of ruining that pretty dress?"

Weiss turned to him and said, "For your information, it is a combat skirt!" She waited for Ruby to jump in and agree with her, as she too is a fan of combat skirts. But, she didn't come. For a brief second, she forgot where she was. She wasn't in Remnant or with her friends and teammates. No, she was stuck with an unfunny, insane clown and a grown man playing dress-up.

Numbly, Weiss started to walk ahead. But not before she noticed a familiar weight missing. She turned back to Batman and saw that he had Myrtenaster, her beloved Multi-Action Dust rapier and her suit case full different kinds of Dust with him. Her rapier was sheathed on his peculiar belt.

Suddenly, she started to walk briskly towards the Dark Knight. Weiss was about to grab her weapon back, but her hand was grabbed by Batman.

"You dolt!" Weiss shrieked. "That doesn't belong to you!"

"It doesn't matter if it belongs to me or not," Batman said sternly, "I'm going to analyze it. I don't know what this stuff is or how you can control, but I'm not going to let anyone handle it."

Weiss relented for the moment as she took her hand back from his grasp. Once she was out of these cuffs, she was going to let this Batman have her weapon or anyone for that matter. She was the only one who knew how the Dust worked and if anything happened because some moron was dumb enough to mess with the red Dust...

She shook those negative thoughts as they crept back into her head. Maybe it was the weather fouling up her mood.

Once they got to the entrance of Arkham Asylum, Joker fell to his knees in defeat. It was an odd action but Weiss noticed the strange smile on Joker's face. Well there always was a smile on his face but this one looked like he was planning something. She was going to tell Batman about it but decided to keep quiet as she was still mad at him./p

The doors to the Asylum opened up automatically as the lights from the Batmobile illuminated the trio standing in the rain. Batman picked Joker up by the back of his suit and pushed him forward. Weiss followed behind them as the place gave her the creeps. They trudged forward as a bunch of men on both sides on the facility had guns trained on them. Weiss noted that these weren't weapons like on Remnant. The guns looked almost primitive but could still deal a lot of damage.

The approached a small group of men underneath a sign that said 'Arkham Asylum Intensive Treatment. There was a shorter man wearing a grey suit and glasses, holding a cane. Weiss couldn't shake the feeling that he reminded her of Professor Ozpin.

"Hey Sharpie! Love what you've done with the place!" the Joker exclaimed.

"That's Warden Sharp to you. Boles!"

Warden Sharp called over to the man standing on his left side. Weiss saw that he had a scar on his right eye, almost the same shape and size as hers. But unlike her scar, his eye was entirely clouded up. As well of stinking of cheap booze as he grew closer.

As the Joker was being dragged by Officer Boles, Warden Sharp approached Weiss and Batman.

And who are you, my dear?" Sharp asked.

Weiss was about to say who she was but she was cut off by Batman.

"Her name is Weiss Schnee. Said she claims she's an heiress to a company but not to one I've heard of. She was also armed when I found her and tried to attack me. I'm taking her with me until I talk to Gordon. See what he thinks before deciding on what to do with her next."

"Um, excuse me! I think the warden was addressing me and not some dolt in a costume."

Weiss realized what she said as she saw the intimidating scowl of Batman again. She pretended not to be frightened so she gave an equally annoyed one back at him. Then she felt a firm hand upon her shoulder. She turned to see that it was Warden Sharp.

"Well Miss Schnee, I hope everything works out for you. I would hate to see someone such as yourself stuck in a place like this." Then Warden Sharp turned his attention towards the Joker, as he was strapped on to a gurney.

"Not so tight boys! You'll crease the suit!" the Joker laughed.

"Get that filthy degenerate out of here!" Sharp commanded.

Sharp and his men pushed the Joker into the next room of the building as Batman and Weiss followed closely. Weiss was about to thank Batman for not saying anything about her talking about Remnant. But once again, the Dark Knight cut her off.

"Look once I deal with Joker and make sure he's locked up for good, I'll help you figure out your situation." Batman started to walk with the rest of the group, trying to keep pace. Weiss sighed and silently thanked whatever deities exist in this world that someone was going to help her.

As Weiss walked through the opening doors with the Batman and the Joker, the doors shut behind them as they ventured deeper into the bowels of Arkham Asylum.

-  
 _ **Well here it is. The start of a story I plan to collaborate with DiRunner on as new ideas are explored in the future. Every bit of criticism will help. How else can I develop a story. Updates for the Z Fighters Reacts and Otherworldly are coming soon. I promise you that! Regardless, I'm back in business. And back for good! Who says you can't go home again?**_  
 _ **Cheers! MultiHydralisk**_


	2. Bad Puns and a Killer Croc

_**Well here we are again. It seems like it was just yesterday since I last uploaded. *glances at clock* Or was it even sooner? Regardless, here we go with the second chapter of The Bat and the Ice Queen! I really think Bruce might be warming up to the Heiress soon. That is to say if she stops giving him the cold shoulder! *ducks under another thrown battleaxe* Either way, on with the show!**_

Weiss' handcuffs weighed heavy on her as she followed Batman into Arkham Asylum. Honestly she was a bit impressed with how high tech this institution was. It was almost impressive as some buildings in Atlas. The one thing that Weiss couldn't stand was how grungy and filthy everything looked. She was scared to touch anything, in case it wasn't properly sanitized. Honestly, this was worse than Ruby's side of their bedroom in Beacon.

Weiss over heard Batman asking for someone named Commissioner Gordon and learning that he was in Patient Handover. Finally! A real police officer, Weiss thought to herself. Maybe the Commissioner can help her out instead of Batman. Not that she didn't trust him, she just had to be wary of people who didn't show their true face.

Then the Joker was babbling about how the Warden loved his cameras. "You getting my good side? Oh heck! Who am I, they're all good aren't they! Hey Weiss Cream, come pose with me! It'll make a great Christmas card!" Joker started laughing.

Trembling with rage, she was about to tell the Joker off for using a nickname that she absolutely hated, until a firm hand grasped her shoulder. She turned her glare onto the Dark Knight.

Remaining neutral, Batman shook his head. "He's not worth it."

Weiss puffed her cheeks out and did her best to cross her arms in indignation. Which was difficult with the handcuffs.

"Well with all of this security, it's doubtful that this manic can escape." Weiss said.

"Oh I'm with you Weiss Cream! How's a guy supposed to break out?" the Joker replied.

A small vein started to throb on Weiss' forehead as her anger started to rise again. A small growl emnated from within her.

"Shut your mouth you-you unfunny sideshow dolt!" Weiss yelled back at the Clown Prince of Crime. No one said anything but continued to walk. Well except for the Joker, who only gasped dramatically.

"Why Ice Queen, I'm shocked and appalled. How dare you wound my sensitive sensibilities! If I was standing on my own two feet, why I would faint on the spot." The Joker said melodramatically.

Weiss let a small smirk grow on her face. Finally, it was about time she showed this clown who was the superior one. Then she looked at the Joker. He was smiling again. But not the usual happy smile that permeated his face. This smile was creepier, more malevolent. As if he was planning something with malicious intent. A torturous act, all planned up for Weiss.

"Oh you better watch yourself in Arkham, Snow White," The Joker said as his eyes pierced through Weiss' very being, "The people in here are crazier than a nest full of broken cuckoo clocks. It would be such a shame if a young, upstanding lady got yourself in trouble. And don't worry, if things start looking grim... you'll always have your pal Mr. J. To guide you of course! Be your shining example in this hive of scum and villainy. Why..."

"Quiet clown!"

"Oof!"

Officer Boles whacked the Joker in the stomach with his nightstick. Joker started to cough while laugh at the same time.

"Nice hit Frankie! Right in the ol sternum." The Joker still laughing.

Weiss could only roll her eyes as the group made their way into what looked like a large metal detector. As the scanning started, Weiss was still frustrated with the Joker.

"It's unbelievable! I thought my friend was bad about her puns, but this guy is in another league. He makes everything a joke. I bet that moron is ever serious."

"You'd be wrong about that. If and when the Joker is serious, that's when he's at his most dangerous."

Weiss jumped back a bit as Batman stood behind her. Jeez he must have a talent for sneaking up behind people.

"Well I doubt he would be a threat to me. If I had Myrtenaster with me, he wouldn't stand a chance against a Huntress in Training." Weiss explained to the Caped Crusader.

Batman raised an eyebrow to her comment. Weiss sighed and pointed at the rapier that was hanging on his belt.

"And I expect to have that back after we leave this place." She said as she continued to point her rapier.

The Dark Knight looked back at her. "Doubtful. Like I said, I'm going to run some tests on it. I don't know if you're really telling the truth on not being from this planet or what your end game is." Batman moved his face towards Weiss' and in a low tone said, "At this moment, I don't know if I can trust you. Make a wrong step, I will end you myself."

Weiss glared back at him, trying to not be intimidated by the much taller figure. "Is that a threat?" Weiss said as she tried to sound intimidating.

"No. That's a promise."

Weiss could feel a shiver going down her spine when he said that, but that feeling was interupted by the sound of alarms blaring.

A officer in the group yelled out, "I want the Joker searched again!"

After two guards finished searching the Joker, they looked towards Batman and Weiss. "Uh I don't think its the Joker sir..."

The Joker started to hoot with laughter. "Ooooh, whatcha got there Bats? Come on tell me, tell me!"

He started to shift excitedly in his restraints. "Batarangs? Batclaws? Batsnacks?"

The Joker then glanced at Weiss' rapier hanging on his belt. "Oh maybe it's Ice Queen's icicle. That thing could poke somone's eye out before they could even see it coming!"

Erupting with laughter, the Joker thrashed against his restraints as the group escorting him continued forward. A taller cop with an odd hook for a hand trained his gun onto Joker.

"I want weapons on him at all times. Do not let this manic out of your sight." the hook-handed man commanded the other officers.

"There'll be time for you later Cash. Speaking of time, tick, tock, tick, tock. Is that a crocodile I hear?" Joker called back to Cash.

Batman felt another presence coming up on his right side. It was Weiss, looking like she was deep in thought. She looked up at him with her pale blue eyes inquisitively.

"What did he mean by'crocodile'? Is this asylum also a zoo?" Weiss asked.

Batman let out a small noise of either amusement or resignation. "With the amount of people that are in here and how mentally unstable some of these inmates are, that isn't the most inaccurate comparison."

Weiss raised an eye brow. "The way you put it, it almost sounds like you put most of these people in here."

Batman responded with silence. Weiss took that as his answer. But there was something off. From her limited experience with the law, any officer would have been proud to have put away so many criminals. But this Batman, almost seemed like he was disappointed. Weiss didn't understand. Why would any sane person be upset with putting scum away? She sighed to herself. She was trying to question the motives of a grown man in a costume.

Batman thought to himself, why did he bring a teenaged girl into an insane asylum, where she could possibly get hurt? But the more he thought about this mystery girl, the more his mind drifted to a couple hours earlier...

He was driving through Gotham with the Joker in the passenger seat. He wonders why the Joker could just attack Gotham City Hall without any reasoning. Sure, Joker is chaotic in his decision making but most of those decisions have some sort of joke to them. This just seemed like he wanted Batman's attention.

And he certainly got it. A quick knock-punch from above stopped the Joker's bizarre attack on city hall. Bruce sighed to himself. Hopefully this would be a quick night.

As Batman drove with the Joker, he passed through Crime Alley as a shortcut to Arkham Asylum. Or at least he convinced himself of that. Occasionally, Bruce would sometimes drive by the alleyway where his parents were gunned down. Not for any sentimental or emotional reason but just out of habit. In his early days of being the Batman, he would sometimes stop by Crime Alley to remind himself what he was fighting for. But nowadays, he mainly does this out of a need to keep patrolling around the city.

The sound of lightning breaking through the atmosphere caught his attention. Bruce knew that it was about to rain soon, but the crack of lightning sounded too close. Stopping the Batmobile and making sure the Joker was restrained, Batman exited out of the car to investigate.

Turning on Detective Mode in his cowl, he searched around the alleyway for anything out of the ordinary. After a few minutes of scanning, everything seemed okay. Well for an alleyway in Gotham at least. He was about to head back to the Batmobile where he heard something among the trash cans. Batman walked over to the source of the noise, to discover a girl emerging from the trash.

Her outfit was a snow white color with the sleeves fading into a pale blue color at the ends. The inside of her ruffled jacket was a bright red, seemingly being the only color that popped on her outfit. The dress' pattern looked like it was the physical manifestation of snow falling. She was dusting herself off, trying to get whatever dirt accumulated on her dress off. There was an old banana peel clinging to her side ponytail that she didn't know was there.

Approaching her slowly, there was another feature that Batman noticed. She was holding what seemed to be a modified rapier, with what looked like revolving chamber. To hold what kind of ammunition, Bruce had no idea. As he got closer, the girl whipped her head around to see the tall figure coming towards her. She pulled up the rapier and held Batman at sword point.

The girl's pale blue eyes glared down at Batman as he stood there, waiting for the next move. The girl cleared her throat and asked, "Who are you? Where am I?"

Batman immediately knew that she must be some sort of amnesiac. He knew that he can't make any sudden moves otherwise...

But as soon as Batman got close, the girl started to thrust her rapier towards his direction. He carefully dodged each attack but Bruce could tell that this girl was highly trained. This wasn't some novice with a stick, but someone who had trained with that weapon her entire life. But, her movements were sloppy. ' _She must be still dazed from whatever happened to her_ ' Batman thought to himself. Fortunately, Batman ended this quickly by stunning her with his cape and knocking her out with a single, precise strike.

Bruce sighed to himself as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs and put them on the unconscious girl. He didn't want her to injure herself or anyone else for that matter. As he went to pick her up, he noticed a silver suitcase laying on the ground. Inspecting it, he found that the case was still unlocked. When Bruce opened it up, he was surprised to what he found. Various vials filled with a small crystal-like substance of various colors. He didn't know what they were, he was unfamiliar with this kind of material. Looking over to the unconscious form of the girl then at her rapier, he assumed the substance was the ammo to the revolving chamber on the rapier. But how it was used was still a mystery. Not wanting to leave this case full of unknown materials, he decided to take it with him.

After spending a few minutes getting the unconscious girl loaded into the Batmobile, along with the rapier and case of the mystery substances. Bruce thought to himself that after dropping off the Joker at Arkham Asylum, he would work with Gordon to figure out what to do with the girl. He sighed to himself once again. Gotham never seemed to sleep and neither did he.

Batman's train of thought was broken by the sound of the elevator screeching up as it sounded like a large weight was preventing the elevator from going full speed. He knew who was coming from the elevator. Batman looked down at Weiss, who was both perplexed and terrified at what was coming.

"Can you smell the excitement in the air? No? Must have been one of the guards." The Joker asked. He then turned his attention towards the hulking figure emerging from the elevator. "Croc, old boy! Is that you?"

The figure coming out from the elevator was huge. But not as big as the Atlesian Paladin prototype, but to Weiss it looked like the monster could rip off the prototype's arms no problem. It was large, green, scaly and extremely pissed off.

The creature grew to full height and Weiss was thinking how on Remnant could normal people keep this beast under check. If she thought she was still in Vale, she might have assumed that this was just a very, very large crocodile Faunus.

The creature dubbed "Croc" by the Joker snarled and growled as heavy chains, wrist cuffs and what looked like a collar made sure that he didn't attempt to attack anyone. But as Croc walked closer to where Batman and her were standing, she could see the large teeth within its mouth.

One of the braver guards asked, "What's it doing?" as if he could try to stop the beast by himself.

" **I've got your scent, Batman! I will hunt you down**." Croc started to continue sniffing the air, as if it found a new target. As Croc swiveled its eyes towards Weiss, she saw that didn't even contain any humanity within them. " **Don't know who you are, but I have your scent too. If you're with Batman, you're as good as**..."

Croc was about to continue but was cut off by the collar sending strong currents of electricity throughout its reptilian body. Croc continued to snarl out, " **A toy collar won't stop me from killing you! I'll rip you apart! Eat your bones...** " And with that very ominous threat, Croc lumbered off to another chamber of the building.

Everyone was dead silent as they tried to recover some sense from the shock. The only ones unaffected were Batman and Joker, with Joker saying, "That reminds me. I need to get some new shoes."

 _ **I don't know about you, but Killer Croc has always been a character I felt spectacularly bad for. Judged to be a monster and less than human due to how he was born, unable to fully trust anyone due to how terribly he was treated in the past. A victim not of his choices, but of circumstances beyond his control and punished for them. I wonder if anyone Weiss knows would be able to relate?**_


	3. Going Down the Rabbit Hole

_**And here we are again. In hindsight, you really have to wonder what exactly the wages are for being a security guard at Arkham Asylum of all places. The patients have a long history of very violent escapes and the most insane residents of Gotham take second place only to the classic 'Rogues Gallery' that Batman has to keep spending his evenings punching. The paycheck cannot in any way be big enough. Either that or the dental plan is absolutely fantastic and Warden Sharp has been holding out on us the whole time.**_

 _ **But enough musing. You came for a story and I'm going to give it to you! On with the show!**_

Weiss rubbed her head in frustration. This was to mask the fact that she might have been afraid of the large crocodile man dubbed "Killer Croc" by Batman. And everyone else for that matter. If she had known any better, it seemed like everyone had some weird nickname they liked to call themselves.

From what Batman had explained to her, before he was Killer Croc, the man was once known as Waylon Jones. Having been born with a condition that makes him look reptilian, he turned to crime due to his distaste in humanity. Which sounded like what the White Fang did after peace didn't work out. This Killer Croc might have actually fit in with the White Fang, if the crimes that he had committed weren't absolutely horrendous.

Murder and cannibalism. She shuddered at the thought of killing someone and then possibly eating that person. Sure she was fine with killing the Grimm because they were a threat to humanity, but killing another human being was too far. Weiss looked down at Officer Cash's hook hand. She had also remembered Batman mentioning that Killer Croc bit off Cash's hand while he was breaking up a riot. Weiss would have said something to the poor man, if the group escorting the Joker hadn't been moving along at a snail's pace.

As they loaded onto the elevator, Joker was laughing up a storm as usual. Weiss could go on living the rest of her life without hearing that disturbing laugh.

"What a great night for a party!" The Joker continued to laugh as the elevator started to move.

"Not where you're going!" Batman said sternly. He glared back at the clown, making sure his point got across.

"You and I have totally different meanings for great." Weiss had said under her breath.

The Joker kept on laughing. Through the laughter, he said, "The night is young Bats! I still have a trick or two up my sleeves. I mean, don't you think it's a little funny how a fire at Blackgate caused hundreds of my crew to be moved here?"

A puzzled look fell onto Weiss' face. His crew? Then a light bulb flashed over her head. So that's why when they were walking through the halls she could hear the Joker's name being chanted. She held her chin in thought. It was almost too easy of a coincidence...

"I thought I told you to keep quiet!" Officer Boles yelled, as he shoved his rifle into the Joker's face. Part of Weiss hoped that he would pull the trigger.

"Oh Frankie, you should really keep your big mouth shut," The Joker warned the scarred officer, "It'll get you into trouble."

Batman moved Boles aside. "Tell me something. You've never let me catch you this easily before. What are you really after?" Batman asked.

The Joker cocked his head side to side, as if mulling the question over. Then a playful smile crept on his face.

"Oh nothing much," he had finally said. "Hundreds dying in pain and fear. Their miserable lives coming to a horrifying conclusion." The smile grew wider and wider. "All thanks to you and a book of matches. Was that the answer you were looking for?"

Weiss wanted nothing more than to take Myrtenaster and use some Ice Dust to create a frozen Joker popsicle. If Yang were here, she would make a bad ice pun or something like that.

Joker noticed Weiss' expression. "Aw don't look so glum, Ice Queen. Why you're invited to the party too! I mean come on, what's a party without cake and Weiss Cream?" He said with a menacing grin that almost seemed to shine in the dim lighting.

Then almost if on cue, the lights went out went as the Joker started to laugh. The guards started to panick as they tried to find some light. Weiss felt helpless in the dark. Even though she couldn't see him, she could still feel the Joker's gaze. But as the lights came back on, Weiss could finally see that Batman had the Joker by the throat.

The Joker started to cough out, "What? Don't you trust me?"

Batman's only response was slamming Joker's head against the gurney. Weiss let go a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

The elevator finally came to a stop as they reached the lower levels. One of the guards motioned the group out of the elevator. He glared at the Joker as the guards moved his stretcher.

"You killed three of my crew when you busted out last time." The guard growled out.

The Joker made a low whistle sound. "Wow only three? I'll be sure to try harder next time. What say we aim for a hundred."

Weiss scoffed at the Joker's answer. "Like you'll ever see the light of day. Criminal scum like you should just stay locked up for good."

Joker started to make a tutting noise at Weiss as they rolled him away. "Careful there Weissy, you're starting to sound like ol' Sharpie. You just need to loosen up."

Weiss gave him a disapproving look. Honestly, who did this maniac think he was telling her to loosen up? Unsure of what to do next, she decided to follow Batman to Patient Handover. There she saw the man who she assumed was Commissioner Gordon. But for a brief second, she thought she saw her father. The two looked so eerily similar, they could have been twins. The same mustachioed face and body type. Except instead of cold blue eyes that seemed to judge your every action, these eyes looked tired yet filled with determination. A pair of glasses rested on a weary, lined face. He also wor white shirt with a brown vest and blue pants that looked like they were slept in for a few days. Weiss couldn't determine how old this man was but he seemed a lot older than he actually was.

Batman approached the Commissioner. "Long night, Jim?" he said in a slightly more friendly tone than Weiss was used to.

Gordon turned to him and sighed. "Joker invades City Hall and holds the mayor hostage, leaving me to juggle the SWAT teams, the media and you. Yeah it's been a helluva night."

Gordon turned his attention to Weiss. "So who's she? New partner?" Gordon said in a joking manner.

But before Batman could say anything, Weiss cleared her throat. "I can introduce myself, thank you." She gave the Dark Knight an annoyed look. Weiss held out her hand to the Commissioner and said, "Hello Commissioner Gordon, my name is Weiss Schnee..."

And as Weiss took it upon herself to talk to Gordon, Batman decided that the locking up the Joker for good took higher priority over this odd girl with the rapier. But as he was about to join the rest of the group, Batman was stopped by one of the guards.

"Sorry Batman, Arkham staff only." the guard said.

Sensing a chance to get away from the talkative heiress, Gordon walked up to the two and said, "Look, if anyone's more qualified, I assure you that-"

"Listen, we appreciate the assistance," the guard said in a non appreciative tone, "But he'll unsettle the more violent inmates."

A loud "HA!" could be heard from the Joker. "I think he's talking about you, Bats!" The Joker said as he continued laughing.

As the other guards take him off the stretcher, Joker called out to Batman, "Don't be a stranger! You're always welcome here. I gotta say, it's good to be back!" He finished laughing the farther he was led on.

Batman sighing in resignation, walked back to Gordon and Weiss, who looked quite upset that no one would listen to her and her blight. She wouldn't tell anyone, but she was obviously more important than some maniac clown in a purple suit.

"You okay?" the tired Commissioner asked the Caped Crusader.

Batman looked at the Joker through the viewing window. He shook his head. "He surrendered without a fight." He narrowed his eyes on the Joker's movements. "I don't like it."

"At least he's where he belongs." Gordon said with a tone of finality.

Gordon then turned his attention back to Weiss. "And what to do with you kid?"

Weiss was getting to the point of being livid, but thought to herself that being polite might actually get her somewhere than acting bratty.

"Well for one, Commissioner Gordon, you can uncuff me. Then I can explain my situation to you in detail." Weiss started to explain. "And let me say how nice it is to have someone to talk to that isn't a deranged psychopath and a wannabe vigilante."

As Gordon was undoing Weiss' restraints, the Joker collapsed on the floor. As a guard started to approach the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker sprang to life and delivered a vicious headbutt to the unsuspecting victim. Then after dazing the guard, Joker used his handcuffs to strangle the helpless guard.

Batman saw what was going on and punched the window, startling both Commissioner Gordon and Weiss. Weiss watched as she saw the Joker kick a doctor that tried to help the strangled guard. And as he finished strangling the guard, the Joker delivered a terrible pun. "Well the choke's on you!" he gleefully laughed.

Weiss felt useless as Gordon was trying as fast as he can to free Weiss. But as the Joker somehow unlocked the gate, Batman busted through the window and landed a few feet from the Joker. She was stunned that someone who wasn't a Hunter or Huntress could attempt a feat like that without getting injured.

The Joker ran up a ramp that was previously locked and exclaimed, "Welcome to the madhouse Batman!" He started to wave his arms about like a demented showman. "I set a trap and you sprang it gloriously!" The Joker started to laugh like a hyena on helium.

Weiss' patience was wearing thin as she saw several large men surround Batman. Her Huntress training wanted to kick in and fight but these handcuffs were doing their job too well.

Without anymore options left, Weiss felt like she had to try and pull a Yang. Brute strength.

nd so she tried to pull apart the hand cuffs with all of her might and... Nothing happened. But before she could react, the hand cuffs became undone. Looking up, Weiss could see that Gordon's face was smiling slightly and was sweaty from the increased need to get her free.

He breathed out, "Thank me later!" As she thanked him silently for his effort.

Batman knew he could take on these thugs without any problems, but his concentration was broken by glass shards being stepped on by high heels. He turned his head to see a now freed Weiss walking towards him. He didn't know if he should be impressed by her willingness to walk into a group of very dangerous criminals or if he should yell at her to leave. But instead, all Batman asked was, "Can you fight?"

Weiss smiled and said, "Yes, but you've yet to return what I need first." She pointed towards the rapier still on his belt.

Batman shook his head and said, "No killing."

Weiss groaned loudly and grabbed Myrtenaster before Batman could react. She switched its revolving chamber to the Blue Dust. Then before Batman's very eyes, the rapier's blade was coated in a thick layer of ice.

Weiss smirked to the Dark Knight and said sarcastically, "Any other rules I need to know about?"

Batman grunted in response as he turned to face the Joker's thugs. But unknown to Weiss, there was a small smirk on his face.

Weiss and Batman took up a fighting stance as they prepared to fight head-on into the attackers with the Joker yelling, "Now let's get this party started!" 

_**If there is another thing that has always fascinated me, it's the willingness of goons in a super hero universe to attempt to rush someone with a lengthy history of combat effectiveness and just expect to win. Yes, I know that's mostly for the entertainment of the audience as we imagine ourselves in spectacular spandex punching criminals and giving them what for. My curiosity comes in when I put myself in the shoes of a thug attempting to punch the man wearing bat-themed tactical armor and an absurd number of black belts in martial arts with my fists. Yes, he's only human. But either the bosses of these criminals give out amazing performance bonuses at the end of a working week or being a common thug in Gotham means you have twice as much bravery as a normal person and half the brains. And this comparison only gets worse when you throw super powers into the mix! These guys thought they had it rough with Batman until now? Wait until they see what Gotham's newest 'huntress' can do!**_


	4. An Unlikely Team Up

_**Another day, another chapter. I actually meant to upload this sooner, but I had a bit of a trip to go on. You see, I had a chance to attend the Keystone Comic Con with a good friend. It was nothing short of phenomenal! With countless costumes and artists from every genre of comic to the mind-boggling amount of goods for sale, it made my head spin trying to keep track of it all. The peak of my visit? Getting a chance to meet the voice of the Dark Knight himself, Kevin Conroy! I knew he must have been exhausted after meeting so many of his fans throughout the duration of his time there, but you could tell he genuinely enjoyed what he was doing. Perhaps this is why I'm having fun with this story. Whenever Batman has dialogue, I picture my meeting with his voice actor and think "I totally met him!". Slight geeking out aside, you're here for another chapter and I aim to deliver!**_

Weiss concentrated on her opponents before her. Normally she didn't have worry about holding back on her enemies, such as Grimm or other people with Aura, but this was different. She had to fight criminals that possessed no Aura or Semblance abilities. And she had to fight them without killing them.

Batman was the first one to move as he started to pummel the first thug within his reach. Weiss decided to do the same as she thrust her rapier in a charging thug's direction. The well-placed strike caused the criminal to topple over as all the air was pushed out of his body. Spinning from her current spot, Weiss struck another thug on the neck with the ice-covered Myrtenaster. He went down like a sack of potatoes being thrown into a basement.

Batman wasn't having any trouble with the criminals. This felt like a warm-up to what he is used to. As he knocked out a pair of thugs by ramming their heads into each other, he looked over to see how Weiss was doing. Remembering that she said she was an heiress to a powerful company from wherever she was, he assumed that she didn't have any experience. He just assumed that she might have been like those pampered girls that he would see at galas.

But this was completely unexpected. This girl was moving about the confined space like a true fighter. Almost like a ballet, it looked like she was gliding from thug to thug delivering a precise and painful hit. He would definitely need to ask where she had this kind of training with a rapier.

And the rapier itself. What was it called? Myrtenaster? And what was that strange stuff in the chamber on the hilt? Whatever material it was, had the ability to produce ice from thin air.

More thoughts raced throughout the head of the Dark Knight as he delivered a blow to the unfortunate man who decided to get back up from being knocked down. Using the cape to stun another thug, Batman was about to throw another punch until Weiss stepped in and kicked the thug in the chest.

Weiss flipped her ponytail in a melodramatic fashion and said, "Well at least you can handle yourself in a fight."

She twirled her rapier into the face of an oncoming attacker. Batman let out a small grunt. "I could say the same thing to you." Batman said as he punched a thug with a pipe that was attacking him from behind.

Commissioner Gordon was stunned. He had seen Batman fight criminals before but this was unreal. Sure he had met the previous Robins and the mysterious Batgirl and assumed that they must have good chemistry working together but to be in sync with a person he had never met before? Weird was a good word for it.

It looked like he was watching two seasoned fighters. Both had each others back as more thugs came crawling out of the woodworks like rats on the Joker's command. They knew what the other person was doing without saying a word as the white haired girl blocked a pipe thrown at Batman. Batman reacted by throwing a Batarang at one of the Joker's goons that tried to trip the girl up.

Weirder still was the girl's combat prowess. This was beyond anything that the old Commissioner had seen. He had heard of a mysterious red blur in Central City stopping crime but he assumed that to be gossip. Ever since Batman first appeared, Gordon's police career had become stranger and stranger.

Weiss slashed at a thug's neck as he tried to lunge at her. Sweat was lightly coating her face as she panted. She looked around the room to see piles of groaning bodies around the room. Some were clutching their heads in pain while others were knocked out cold. The Joker was still smiling triumphantly at her and Batman. She turned to Batman, whose gaze never left the Joker.

"My, my how splendid!" the Joker crowed. "Why it was like watching a ballet of crushing bones and punches! A symphony of pained screams and..."

"An end to your buffoonery!" Weiss finished for him as she leapt towards the Joker.

Joker grinned as he saw the white haired girl come towards him. He merely stepped backwards a couple steps as an electrified gate appeared in front of him. Weiss, realizing that she had fallen into a trap, tried to angle herself away from the gate. Weiss knew that her Aura would protect her, but the impact would still feel uncomfortable.

And she was right. Her Aura did absorb most of the impact, but she could still feel the dull sensation of being hit with electricity. As she shook off the pain and charged back into battle, Weiss couldn't help but feel Joker's gaze on her. The cruel eyes of the clown watched her as if she was an animal in a zoo, or a creature on a table to be dissected. Weiss tried not to think about that as she summoned a series of white Glyphs that led into a group of criminals.

Batman paused briefly to look over this mystery girl. Who exactly was she? He knew her name was Weiss Schnee and that she was the heir to some sort of company and that she wasn't from Earth. And now she has some sort of power? A normal person would have been severely hurt if they charged headfirst into an electric barrier like she did but she looks like she's no worse for wear. She seemed human enough but Bruce had been around the block too many times to assume someone based on appearances.

As Weiss glided along the white Glyphs, the Joker crowed out in surprise.

"Well, well, well! Looks like the Ice Queen has some tricks up her snowy sleeves for Round 2!"

As the Joker said that, almost instantly more inmates showed up to confront Weiss and Batman. The Schnee heiress kept summoning her Glyphs to attack the thugs while Batman knocked out anyone that came close to his fists.

A very large criminal wearing a disgusting beanie didn't know who he should be more scared of. Batman, the Joker or this new girl who skated along the floor as if it was like ice? Batman by himself is scary but to attack someone who has a sword covered in thick ice was even worse. But they didn't kill or torture like the Joker did. And he was paying him, along with the rest of his gang from Blackgate. Before he could think of anything else, he saw the girl in white skate towards him as she thrust the ice sword into his stomach. As all the air was pushed out of his system, he found himself on the floor as he felt a fist collide with the back of his head. Grasping his head in pain, the last thing the hat wearing thug saw was a large shadow descending on him and then nothing.

Weiss sighed to herself as the last thug fell to Batman. This was certainly different than fighting Grimm. She looked towards the Dark Knight, who wasn't even out of breath after all that fighting. She was impressed with someone who didn't even have an Aura to keep up with her, but this Batman certainly seemed like he could probably hold his own against her teammates. Or maybe she was giving him too much credit.

Suddenly, Commissioner Gordon's voice came over the PA system. "Joker's jammed the system. He's in full control of the security systems so we're stuck in here!"

"I'll find a way out. Gordon, try and contact the Warden and tell him what's happened," Batman called out to the Commissioner, "I'll be back."

"Don't make any promises you can't keep, Bats." The Joker said as his voice came from a security screen. He was wagging his finger playfully at Batman.

"I'm in full control of the Asylum. You're not going anywhere I don't want you to. Understand?"

A deep growl was uttered by the Dark Knight. "If you think I'll let you run..." Batman called out.

The Joker interrupted him and said, "Blah blah blah, always with the hero talk. I'm getting bored watching you. Why don't you try and come find me? And be sure to bring little Miss Snowflake with you? Looks like she's a lot more entertaining than I realized..."

And as the Joker finished saying that, the security gates when down. The Commissioner's voice came over the PA system again. "You do know it's a trap?"

Batman merely said, "Of course it is."

Then Batman turned towards Weiss, who tried to keep neutral face after being creepily called out like that. Honestly, this was like dealing with the self-proclaimed criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick. The difference came if Roman was given a large dosage of sadistic humor and a creepy smile. Batman's gravelly voice broke her out of her stupor.

"You're staying here."

"Excuse me?" Weiss asked.

"Stay. Here." Batman repeated, punctuating each word.

"Um no. You're going to need my help." Weiss didn't want to be treated like a child. She was Huntress in Training! She had an actual weapon and her Dust! Weiss was definitely more effective at taking down this Joker than a costumed brawler.

Batman pointed his finger in her face. "You don't know what the Joker is like..."

"I don't care."

Batman was surprised. No one has ever talked back at him in such a way with so much attitude. She was almost like Jas... He shook that thought out of his head.

"Fine." He grumbled.

Weiss raised an eyebrow sassily. "I'm sorry, what was that? Your garbled voice is hard to understand sometimes." She said sarcastically.

"You're coming with me," Batman said, "Just be warned. There's more than just the Joker to worry about with the security down."

Crossing her arms, Weiss stood there stubbornly. "Well I like a challenge. Might be some good practice for the Vytal Festival."

Batman stared her down. "If you think this is a game, then you're sorely mistaken."

Weiss only huffed indignantly. "I just need to get some things from my briefcase."

"No time, we leave now. The longer we wait, the more lives the Joker threatens."

"Then let me get my things and we can save more," Weiss snarled.

She turned away before the Caped Crusader could get another word in. She walked up to where Commissioner Gordon and called up to him.

"Mr. Commissioner, could you toss down my briefcase? There's some things that I need in there."

Without a word, the silver briefcase with the Schnee emblem was tossed out from the control room. Weiss picked it up and looked at Gordon. Their eyes met and without saying anything, Gordon nodded and gave the white haired girl a confident grin.

After reloading any empty chambers on Myrtenaster, she wondered how she was going to carry the rest of her Dust supply. A shadow cast over her as the Dark Knight loomed over her. Standing up, Weiss tried to meet his gaze.

"And what do you want?"

She wished she knew what was going on through his cowled head. He looked down at her briefcase and back to her. Batman reached down and grabbed a vial of the yellow Dust.

"Be careful with that, you dolt! It's highly volatile," she warned him.

"I've handled dangerous materials before, but this is something different." Batman said as he looked from the vial to her. "You're going to tell me what this is and what it can do."

Weiss noticed that his tone sounded less harsh than usual, as if he was genuinely curious about the Dust. From what Weiss had seen, Dust wasn't as common on this planet than on Remnant. Maybe she can use this to her advantage?

"I'll let you analyze the Dust I have with me, after we deal with this clown and if you help me figure out a way home. Do we have a deal?" Weiss asked as she stuck her hand out.

Batman took her hand and shook it. "Fine. But while you're with me, you'll have to follow my rules exactly."

Weiss nodded in agreement. "That's fine by me. You said 'no killing', right? Easy."

Batman continued, "And you'll only use this "Dust" when necessary. I don't know how they work and I don't plan to find out. Not yet at least."

Opening and closing her mouth, Weiss gave in. If Batman was willing to help her, then she might as well play by his rules.

"That's fine, but I don't plan on carrying my supply with me. I've had experience with idiots who mishandle my things," Weiss said, as she thought back to the first time meeting her partner.

Without a word, Batman carefully picked up different vials of Dust and put them in different compartments on his belt. Weiss looked confused by this.

"Are you sure they'll be safe in simple pockets?"

"I've been in plenty of fights and been blown up several times, and the tools on my utility belt have never been harmed."

Confused and wanting to find the Joker, Weiss didn't say anything. As Batman put away the final vial that he could fit on his belt, he took off in a sprint down the hallway. Weiss looked back down at the brief case, there was still some vials leftover, but she figured that they would be okay if she left them here. The police should be arriving to arrest the unconscious criminals and provide back up. Locking it up, Weiss was positive that no one would use her Dust. Not that there was anyone that know about it. With a sigh, she was going to guess this was going to be one long night. Following the costumed vigilante.

 ** _It would seem that Batman has taken a bit of an interest in this mysterious 'Dust' that Weiss is in possession of. One of the things that I always enjoy when it comes to an intelligent character coming across something new or unexpected is the analysis that usually follows. How to utilize this new discovery to improve their own tools or general equipment. What kind of impact this would make and new opportunities would be made possible that wouldn't be possible otherwise? This is one of the key elements for what I believe makes a good crossover. It should never be one franchise showing off how cool it is to the other or even what I call a 'beat down' fic where a character from another franchise is completely overpowered when put into a new setting. When the crossover opens new story paths that benefit both of them at the same time without destroying what makes them both unique and enjoyable is what I consider the epitome of a good crossover._**


	5. Following the Trail of Insanity

_**If there is ever a challenge that has always been a powerful one to overcome when crossing over super hero stories and games with anything else, it would have to be rationalizing the reason that super villains and other such criminals aren't put to death for the safety of the innocent. From the outside looking in, visiting characters probably think the heroes are insane for keeping their rogues galleries alive. This has led to some very powerful writing by comic companies as to why these evil and cruel individuals should be kept alive. We know in the real world why this happens. Great villains make for great stories (most of the time, as it depends on the author), and killing them removes that potential for future stories. But how would you rationalize keeping the villains alive? What excuse would you give? Perhaps you don't believe you should be judge, jury, and executioner. Maybe you believe in the justice system in place by the government and going around it means you value your own opinion over it. Or it could be that you think ending them puts you, even if just by the smallest bit, on the level of the evil you want to end. The Punisher and Red Hood have given their own reasons for putting down threats, but I believe that heroes not killing gives an ideal to strive towards. That mercy, integrity, and strength of character should be valued and not disgarded. Maybe you disagree and think all super villains should just be killed on the spot since it's arguably the easier solution. I've wondered numerous times about this. Yes, you would end that specific threat. But do you just do it again for the next villain that rises? And the next one after that? How often does this repeat? Do you fight for justice or do you fight for vengeance? Do you want to inspire hope or become something to be feared? It seems countless heroes and anti-heroes have their answer. Which one do you choose? Regardless, on with the show!**_

Weiss and Batman continued down the hallways of Arkham Asylum, after a brief encounter with two thugs who thought they were brave enough to take them on. Weiss rubbed her temples in annoyance, these security alarms were starting to annoy her. Batman, on the other hand, thought these security alarms were bad news. Joker's influence throughout Arkham could spell bad news for any civilians or the workers in the buildings.

They started to approach a large metal door, but suddenly stopped when Batman put a finger to where Weiss assumed was his actual ear.

"Oracle, can you hear me?" he asked to no one in particular.

Batman paused as Weiss was about to ask who that was. He must have some sort of communication device in his ear that allows him to talk with other people. This is why Scrolls are better. You don't look so ridiculous talking to nothing.

Yang would have made some sort of comment about his bat ears being like signal receptors.

No! Weiss thought to herself, shaking her head in frustration. Don't think about your friends now; focus on taking down the Joker. Then after that, find a way home. If there was one...

...is safe. I have some help from a young girl with a rapier. No, she's not with the League of Assassins. I'll stay in contact." Batman finished talking to whatever voice was on the other end of the comm device.

Weiss asked him, "So who was that? Friend of yours?"

Batman grunted, "Someone who relays information to me."

Weiss smirked a bit. "And here I thought you were the kind of guy who planned out everything in detail.

Batman didn't say anything. Weiss continued to ask questions. "So who are the League of Assassins? Thought your deal was that you don't kill."

Again, Batman didn't respond but continued to move forward. Weiss, following him, kept talking to fill the awkward silence. This man was more difficult at having a conversation than Blake.

"Look, I know you don't like me. I feel the same about you honestly. But we need to work together as a team if we can beat the Joker. A little communication can go a long way to help a team work better. I should know. My partner was an over talkative, weapons-obsessed, sugar fiend who may be a little immature at times, but I trust her with my life. Along with my other two teammates."

Weiss felt like she was getting winded doing big speeches. That was more of Professor Port's shtick.

Batman continued to walk but asked Weiss, "So do these teammates of yours have names?"

Weiss nodded, even though he wasn't looking. "There's my partner Ruby, her half sister Yang and her partner Blake. You'd probably get along with Blake the most. She's all dark and broody like you."

Batman made a small sound. Weiss couldn't tell if that was a laugh or a grunt. Perhaps just a general noise men make.

"So do they have weapons like yours?" The Dark Knight questioned her. He needed to find out more about this girl. And if there were more of her from where she came from, then the more he had to be prepared for. It didn't hurt if Batman was over prepared.

"Well not exactly. We all use Dust for ammunition but in different ways. Yang has these gauntlets that let her shoot Dust in short range and for punching people really hard. Blake has a katana that's also a pistol, and an appendage that lets her swing short distances or grab things far away. It depends on what she needs for a given situation. And then there's Ruby, who has a sniper scythe."

Batman paused. "A sniper scythe?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes a scythe that transforms into a sniper. In a way, it's kind of humorous. She's so short and young but her weapon is massive."

Batman continued to question her. "And are there more weapons like that? Does everyone have weapons in that kind of manner?"

She scoffed at his questions. "Not everyone, trained Hunters and Huntresses do. What's with the sudden interest in my friends and I? If I wanted to be interrogated, I would have stayed with the police."

Walking ahead of the Caped Crusader, she saw more people ahead. Then she heard the cries for help. A fast moving shadow moved passed her as Batman ran ahead of her. Following him, they stopped in front of another electrified security gate. Weiss looked passed the gate and saw one of the Arkham guards tied down to a chair, with a crazy man in rolled up orange pants holding a trigger above his head.

The trigger wielding man looked like he was covered in various cuts and scars. Disgusted, Weiss looked away from him. She asked the guard next to her who that was.

"That's Zsazz, he's one of the inmates here," the guard replied.

Weiss rolled her eyes. It was fairly obvious that he was.

The guard went on, "You see those scars on his body?" Weiss noded. "Self-inflicted. Each cut representing each victim he's killed."

Weiss nearly gagged when he said that.

"Well why don't you try stopping him?" she asked.

"He said he'll kill Mike if we get too close. And the Joker overrode the security gates so we can't bust and stop Zsazz. This night went from bad to worse to a shitshow in a matter of minutes." The guard shook his head in disbelief.

Weiss looked back to Batman, who wasn't standing there anymore. Assuming he ran up the stairs heading to the next level, she followed him up. Trying to block out the pained screamed of the trapped guard, Weiss continued her way up until she saw Batman and two guards overlooking the situation. Then she noticed that neither of the guards had guns with them. What kind of prison has guards that don't carry weapons with them? This was getting pretty ridiculous, Weiss thought.

Batman was looking at the odd gargoyles that were scattered around the room. Weiss thought to herself that those gargoyles were pretty gaudy looking. She looked at Batman, who was pulling out a strange device from his side.

She pointed at it and asked, "So what's that thing do?"

"Grappling hook. I'm sure those gargolyes will support my weight, so I'll use them to get a better vantage point and take down Zsazz when he isn't looking."

"And you just expect him to stay still in one place for you to attack him? Why don't you let me help?"

Batman sighed in frustration. Sure, Weiss could handle herself against common criminals, but some of the more deranged ones were unpredictable. But not wanting to argue when there wasn't much time, he said, "Once I get to that middle gargoyle, that will be the signal." He pointed at the lone gargoyle that was in the straight center of the room.

Weiss nodded and then Batman used the grappling hook to swing up the gargoyles. Taking a calming breath, Weiss concentrated on summoning one of her Glyphs. She had one chance to pull this off at the right moment.

When she saw Batman swing onto the aforementioned gargoyle, Weiss activated Myternaster's revolving chamber to use the black Dust and then summoned a large black Glyph onto the patch of tile that Zsazz was walking on.

Zsazz's body felt stuck, as if he was moving in water. He tried to struggle and break free, but his body wouldn't responding. Batman then glided down and delivered a kick straight into Zsazz's head. As the scarred psychopath fell down, Batman finished the job by slamming his fist into Zsazz to knock him out.

Weiss jumped down to meet up with Batman. He saw her jump down from the high level and wasn't surprised that she could do that. Frankly he was more concerned of what she couldn't do.

Weiss was trying to hide her excitement due to her part of the plan executing flawlessly. Maybe she'll get an actual compliment from him! Trying not to have such lofty expectations, she walked towards him.

"Hmph, good timing. I'm sort of impressed."

Puffing out her chest, it seemed like Weiss was finally getting the respect she so rightfully deserved. Or so she thought as the Dark Knight continued his thought.

"Though, if you were a second off that guard could have been killed."

And just like that, Weiss went back to really disliking Batman. Rolling her eyes and stepping away from him, Weiss turned her head slightly in his direction.

"As a Schnee, I was trained to be precise and graceful. As a Huntress, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself in combat." Weiss called back to Batman.

Feeling that she was on a roll, she angrily stamped back towards the Dark Knight. She jabbed a finger into his armored chest and said, "Even if there was a single moment that I might have missed, which is highly doubtful, I could have easily taken down that maniac. You have no idea of what I've faced in the past. I've fought and killed monsters that would make you run away in fear."

Weiss didn't realize it at that moment, Batman started to glare at her as a scowl grew on his face. Normally, Bruce could have easily blown off the tirade of a spoiled heiress but there was something that kept nagging at him. He kept getting reminded of a boy that was probably around Weiss' age, telling Bruce off about how they should handle criminals. Slowly, his annoyance was replaced by a feeling of guilt and sadness. Though it doesn't show on the Caped Crusader's chiseled face.

A sudden screech of static erupted through the air, gaining both Batman and Weiss' attention. The source of the noise coming from a series of TVs.

"Can you hear me? Is this thing on?" asked a pair of boobs that appeared on the screen. Weiss recoiled slightly, not expecting that to happen. The owner of said boobs backed away from the camera and allowed herself to be shown fully.

The woman was dressed in clown make-up and an odd blue and red version of a classic nurse's uniform. Her blonde pigtails bounced up and down as she readjusted the camera to her face. If Weiss was in a more humorous mood, she could have sworn this was Yang's doppelganger. But her distrust in this clown woman only grew when she knew that she must be associated with the Joker in a way.

"Oh hiya B-Man! Harley Quinn here. What do you think of my new outfit?" Harley started to spin around in place to show off her costume. "Pretty hot, huh?"

Weiss let out a long groan. This had to be this planet's version of Yang. Only she could think of a name that bad with her sense of humor.

Harley Quinn started to twirl a cane in her hand that seemed familiar as she stared down at Weiss through the camera, hoping that she could intimidate the misplaced Huntress.

"Oh you think you're hot stuff cause you're some fancy rich girl type, eh Ice Queen? Now if you don't mind me giving you the cold shoulder, I got something to show to B-Man!"

Harley went off screen while shouting, "One sec B-Man!"

Weiss looked over to Batman to see what his reaction was. He just continued to stare at the screen, waiting for Quinn to reappear. The sound of a chair being pushed towards the camera could be heard off screen. As well as the sounds of someone being gagged and struggling to break free.

"Ta-da!" Harley Quinn said as she revealed to have Warden Sharp strapped to a chair by copious amounts of duct tape. Even his mouth was covered in the tape too. "I'm subbing for the old man, and Old Sharpie's never looked happier!" She then pressed his head against her chest in a playful manner.

"Oh yes, I'm totally sure that Warden Sharp would want some clown to run an insane asylum. Makes good business sense," Weiss said sarcastically.

Quinn stuck her tongue out at Weiss for the remark. "Well in case ya didn't figure it out, today's Puddin's big homecoming. And it looks like you two the guests of honor!"

Confused by her statement, Weiss asked her, "Wait what do you mean "you two"? What else is that awful excuse of clown planning?"

Harley shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me, Ice Queen! Don't know why Mr. J's interested in you. Maybe you caught his attention by hanging around Bat-Boy over there or something? Pudding said he has a lot planned for you two. I don't know. He was kind of vague about it. If I'm being honest Snow Princess, I don't know how you got Mr.J's attention. You ain't got much going on, if you catch my drift. Snow drift! Ha!"

It took a couple seconds for Weiss to realize what Harley meant. She rubbed her temples angrily and sighed. Her Yang was definitely better at humor than this clown wannabe. Though not by much.

"You have one chance to surrender, Quinn." Batman warned her coldly.

Cocking her head side to side, Quinn said, "Tempting Bats but no dice! Now the inmates are running the asylum!"

She started to push Warden Sharp away before turning back to the camera. "Well technically Joker's goons from Blackgate are running the asylum, but you get the picture. Bye bye for now!"

Then Harley swung the cane into the camera, cutting off the feed.

Batman and Weiss looked at each other. Unsure of what to say next, Weiss asked, "So what's the plan?"

Batman replied, "I'm going to start looking for a way out."

Walking away with his finger to his hidden ear piece, most likely talking with the mysterious Oracle, Weiss wanted to call out to him. But she figured he would just ignore her anyway.

Trying to find a spot to sit down for a minute, she decided to lean up against a wall. Sliding down the wall, Weiss felt an overwhelming weight wash over her. Laying Myrtenaster down next to her, she pulled her knees close to her chest. She felt so alone, as if the prospects of her getting back to Beacon with her friends was growing smaller and smaller. Weiss felt like crying but she held back the tears. She didn't know if the Joker and his lady clown friend had cameras trained on her and she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of breaking down. Laying her head against her knees, she closed her eyes and wished she was back at Beacon again.

A heavy hand was felt on her shoulder as Weiss looked up to see the Dark Knight standing over her. His dark blue eyes were filled with pity again. And something else as well. Was it empathy? Well whatever it was, Weiss stood up and tried to dust of her skirt.

"Are you alright?" Batman asked in his deep voice.

She nodded, trying to keep her face neutral. "Yes I think so," Weiss said as she tried clearing her throat. "I'm assuming you found a way out of this room?"

He nodded and led her to an open air vent, with the grate torn off. Batman was the first to go in as he crouched to go inside. Weiss was a little apprehensive, but she complied and followed suit. She didn't like the fact that she had to crawl through a dirty air vent, but it didn't seem like there were any other options.

Following Batman through the vents was easy enough. There didn't seem to be any branching paths that could have led to Weiss getting lost. And another thing, for such a high-functioning facility, the place was filthy to Weiss as she pushed away another cobweb. But something else had caught her eye. There was a side vent that led to a dead end that was glowing a dim green light. Intrigued, she followed the source of the light, making sure that she could easily catch up with the Dark Knight.

After brushing more cobwebs out of the way, Weiss grabbed what looked like a glowing green question mark. Confused, she crawled as quick as possible back to Batman to show what she found. It didn't take that long as Batman was talking with the mysterious Oracle again.

Coughing to get his attention, Weiss presented her findings. Batman grabbed the glowing question mark and muttered, "Nigma."

Confused, Weiss asked, "Wait what's an enigma?"

Batman nodded. "Exactly. Edward Nigma aka the Riddler."

He continued to walk towards a guard when Weiss asked, "I'm guessing another one of your friends?"

Then it hit her. Edward Nigma. E. Nigma.

Batman was about to approach the panicking guard when he heard Weiss cry out, "Oh come on! Does everyone here have a bad sense of humor? Yang would be in pun heaven."

He definitely was going to ask Weiss more about herself and her world. Didn't hurt to have one more file on a person.

Weiss saw that the room was being sealed up as a robotic voice on the PA announced that the room was full of toxins. She had never seen green gas like this before and it was genuinely terrifying.

The panicky guard turned to Weiss and Batman. "Are you going to get in there and help them Batman and..." The guard was blanking on a name. Sure he had heard about his partner Robin, but this girl was not fitting the usual description.

"It's Weiss. And what kind of gas is in there?" She asked.

"Joker toxin. Those people will die if we don't hurry. Hang on."

Weiss wrinkled her brow. Of course the Joker would have his own toxin. And hang on to what?

Answering her question, Batman grabbed Weiss by the waist as he pulled out his grapelling gun and shot it towards a higher ledge. As they shot towards the new location, Weiss saw another grate that could be opened. Weiss dusted off her dress as soon as Batman let her go. She wasn't going to complain because there were people that had to be saved. There was always more time to complain later.

As Batman pulled off the vent covering he said, "This isn't just a simple escape, Joker's been planning this."

Weiss responded with a snarky comment. "Well it's pretty obvious that he wasn't planning for me to show up and ruin his fun. Bet he didn't realize you had a Schnee up your sleeve!"

She had a small smile as she made the bad joke. Batman turned to her and gave her a deadpan stare. Weiss was a bit upset that he didn't understand her high class humor.

"Oh come on, you dolt. Ace up your sleeve? Schnee up your sleeve? And he's the Joker, like the card. Maybe spending so much time with the clown has ruined your sense of humor."

Making a haughty humph sound, she tried to ignore Batman as she lifted up the guard who was barely hanging onto the ledge. Batman walked past both of them and said, "You're going to be fine, stay here."

He pulled out his graplling gun and flew into the air, leaving Weiss behind. Sighing to herself, she summoned a white Glyph to propel herself into the air. Weiss caught up with Batman as an explosion went off near both of them. The explosion barely made a dent in her Aura as she helped the Dark Knight pull up another security officer. Weiss then summoned another white Glyph to jump in the air as Batman glided down to the next level.

She saw that instead of another officer, it was one of Joker's goons. She had half a mind to just kick him off the ledge and into the gas but Batman beat her to the punch. Literally. He pulled up the criminal and knocked him out.

Batman pulled out a strange bat shaped object from his utility belt and took aim to the power switch that controlled the air flow. He threw it so quickly that Weiss barely got a chance to see it. Hitting dead on the switch, the robotic voice on the PA system said that the purification system was active. As the remaining gas was being filtered out, Batman jumped down to inspect the area. Following his example, Weiss did the same as she saw another area that was glowing green. It was another one of the Nigma question marks. Mustering up the strength to pull off the grate, she found that it was a lot easier than expected. The whole thing was made out of a weak material. Or perhaps that she was stronger here because of her Aura. Either way, she picked up the small trophy and crushed it. Weiss hoped that this wasn't going to become a commonplace thing.

As Batman returned, they wordlessly walked ran into the next area. Running past the rescued guards, one of them yelled out, "Go Batman! Go Snowflake! You guys rock! Joker doesn't stand a chance!"

Letting out a groan, Weiss asked Batman, "Does everyone hear have a nickname or something like that? I hope that Snowflake thing doesn't stick."

"You'd be suprised. They probably called you that because you summoned the white symbol to help you."

"My Semblance? Well I'll show people that I'm more than just a symbol."

Batman did his best to hide a grin from forming. She was starting to impress him a bit.

"So this Semblance of yours? Does everyone have them from where you come from?" Batman asked the Schnee heiress.

"I'd think so but I'm not extremely positive. Sembalances are the manifestations of our soul, our very being. So they reflect our inner selves in a way." Weiss was starting to feel like a teacher at this point, explaining everything to a very nosy student.

"For example, my family has the ability to summon Glyphs. My sister can also summon versions of Grimm she's defeated in the past. She's quite the fierce opponent."

But before Batman could ask what Grimm are, the Joker's voice came over the PA system.

"What are you waiting for? I'm so close you can almost taste me."

Weiss noticed that there were crudely drawn green arrows that were pointing towards a large green Joker face.

After quickly disposing of two thugs that were in the way, the door at the end of the hallway opened up as they approached it.

And there the Joker was, standing on top of some sort of container with locks on it.

"What took you guys so long?" the Joker asked as he giggled to himself.

Weiss shrugged. "Oh we were just cleaning up your messes and relishing the fact that this is the end of the line for you, scum."

The Joker grinned and tapped on his chin, as if he was thinking about something he forgot about. "Oh is that a fact? Well come on then Snowflake! Let's see what you..."

Batman threw a Batarang at the Joker but missed, cutting him off.

"There's no escape for you Joker! I will find you."

The Joker kept laughing to himself. "Oh I'm counting on that! Just not yet!"

As he said that, he stamped his foot on the large container. It started to open to reveal a large deformed monster. Its left side was completely lopsided as its arm was enormous. The thing jumped down and roared at the two of them.

"Oh he's a big one!" The Joker called to them.

Weiss was prepared to attack but the monster threw a body of a security officer at her. She wasn't expecting that as her Aura absorbed the impact of the thrown body. Weiss stood back up and attacked the creature.

It swung its large arm down as it created a shockwave but she nimbly dodged it. She stabbed at it a few times with her rapier causing it pain. The monster tried to swing at her but it kept missing.

It then decided to charge at Batman but he threw a Batarang to confuse it. As it ran into a wall, Batman started to hit the creature with a barrage of punches.

It started to pace around and throw punches at nothing. Weiss was a bit confused. The monster was acting very odd. But suddenly, the beast grabbed at its chest then its head.

As Weiss and Batman walked closer to the suffering monster, they could see its veins glowing a bright green as they could hear the monster's heart burst from within its chest. The bright green eyes of the monsters then turned back into the cold, lifeless eyes of a dead man.

"Well that was unexpected. Wasn't it?" The Joker asked with his hands on his hips.

Batman and Weiss glared at him. The Joker then muttered that he need stronger test subjects.

"Well seeing how I'm in generous mood, I'll give you two a free shot." The Joker walked closer to the edge as he held his arms out.

"Knock me off, I dare you! End this, pull the plug, stop me once and for all!"

Weiss felt like this was a trap, but she wasn't so sure. The Joker was insane, but insane enough to kill himself? Was he testing them? Thousands of questions were ringing through her head.

Batman was about to throw another Batarang but he stopped short. The Joker started to let a crazed laugh.

"You're getting too predictable Bats!"

And whatever else he was about to say was cut short as a small fountain of ice erupted from underneath him and froze his foot in place.

Batman turned to Weiss to see her with her rapier up, as if she was about to attack the Joker.

In a deep voice, Batman said, "No."

Weiss looked at him. "You can't be serious? You're actually going to let him get away? You idiot! He's just going to hurt more people and you're just going to let that happen!" At this point, Weiss realized she was screaming. She didn't know why she was filled with anger but she continued her verbal onslaught.

"I'm going to take him down and get back home to my friends and I'm not going to let some freak in a costume stop me!" Weiss looked away from Batman, with tears in her eyes. She turned back to the Joker, only to realize he set himself free.

"Well it looks like you two need to talk about your issues. Going to say something with daddy. I don't know, I'm not a psychiatrist. I just date one!" The Joker laughed at his own joke.

Weiss looked ready to attack him again, but Batman held her shoulder tightly.

The container that previously held the monster was starting to move into another room.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat, but I got a party to organize. I've got guests flying in all over from Arkham. You'll see." The Joker threateningly called out as his laughter echoed out from behind the closing doors, leaving an angry Weiss and Batman alone.

 _ **It looks as if Weiss is growing frustrated with Batman and his methods for dealing with c**_ _ **riminals. A wedge might have formed here between them. Will they be able to discover what makes the other person tick? Or will this make their cooperation all the more difficult as they venture deeper into the Asylum? Only time will tell what will happen next, dear readers!**_


	6. Old Wounds and New Leads

_**Hello again! I would like to apologize for the delay for this chapter coming out. There has been a long string of real life problems that I have had to deal with which have repeatedly cut my free time into pieces. Job searching has been the primary one, along with hours I have to put in at my current job and organizing personal finances. So much fun stuff that I'm sure plenty of you find relatable in all too many familiar ways. On a more important note, these issues have also driven me to make a very important decision. The story that I had adopted, The Z Fighters Reacts to Death Battle, has been returned to the original author JLyman. It was with a heavy heart that I made this decision. However, I stand by it. I knew that with everything going on for me, I would have ended up doing a rather poor job breathing new life into that story. This was an injustice that I could not let pass for JLyman's hard work, and hopefully that story receives the adoption and love it needs to flourish properly. For everyone who will be disappointed and frustrated with me, I can only sincerely apologize. I hope to earn back your good faith through more chapters. In the meantime, on with the show!**_

The silence that held sway in the room could only last so long. Weiss glared at Batman, as if her very stare could be used as some sort of weapon against the infuriatingly emotionless crime fighter.

"Why?" she asked quietly. "Why is that…that THING still running around doing…doing THAT to people!" She pointed at the fallen colossus that had tried to crush the duo before collapsing; the transformation the man had undergone proving too much for his own physiology.

"Joker is a madman hell bent on making the world into his own sick version of a joke." Batman replied. "He was supposed to be locked up before he decided to stage this takeover."

"That's not what I mean and you know it!" Her hand went to the hilt of Myternaster. "The police seem to have some kind of respect for you, even disregarding that what you're doing wouldn't have gotten you very far in Vale or anywhere else!"

Batman lowered his gaze for a moment. "You think they deserve no mercy." It wasn't a question. Over the years, various media outlets had criticized him for 'prolonging' the destruction that wreaked havoc in Gotham City. For every thug he fought, another seemed ready to fill their spot. For every attempt to lock away the more dangerous individuals that called Gotham's underworld home, another broke out to cause more chaos in the streets.

"I won't pretend to be some sort of expert on how things work here, but even you must see how ludicrous it is to lock up people like him!" The young huntress looked the vigilante in the eye. "How many people has he hurt?!"

"Too many."

The flat tone finally caused her temper to spike to dangerous levels. Weiss drew her sword, prompting Batman to draw a Batarang. The two eyed the other fighter carefully.

"If you really cared about these people, you would do a better job protecting them!"

"And what would you do? Take that sword to every criminal in Gotham until the streets run red in the name of 'justice'? That's what the League of Assassins fights for."

Weiss's hand shook slightly at that accusation, but remained in her combat stance."It wouldn't be that way. The police could-"

"When I first donned this mask, the police force in Gotham had been running rampant with corruption. Deals with criminal organizations, officers being paid to look the other way, and innocents being caught in the crossfire of day to day living in Gotham."

Weiss paused as she absorbed that information. "Is that why you do this? You saw the ineptitude of the law and decided you could do it better?"

"I did it so that no one would fall victim to that kind of chaos if it could be avoided." As a sign of good intention, Batman slowly collapsed the Batarang in his hand and put it back into his belt.

There was still one thing that Weiss couldn't understand.

"That might be applicable for common criminals, but what about others? Not just that garish clown, but that 'Killer Croc' or Zsazz? They can't be the kind of people you would expect to work in a bookstore one day."

Batman relaxed his stance. "I fight for justice, but I won't kill. I won't be like them."

Weiss blinked a bit at that statement. ' _He can't honestly see things in that simple a light, can he?_ ' While the idea of killing wasn't something she would ever say she was eager to throw herself towards, she understood that there were soldiers who fought in wars for the sake of protecting the innocent. What made this 'Batman' so sure that what he was helpful beyond being a temporary solution?

"Hmph." With a flick of the wrist, Weiss put away Myternaster. "I hope you know that I'll have more questions later. Don't you go thinking you've won this argument just yet."

Nearby, a soft grunt of pain was heard. A guard who had been unconscious behind a security grid was struggling to his feet. "Ahh…My head!" The guard took a look at the duo. "Quick! Get in here before more of them come!" With a flick of a switch, the electrified gate was deactivated.

The guard was dizzy, but still did his best to remain upright and coherent as he explained his situation. "They came out of nowhere! I dragged Jerry in here, powered up the gate. Must have passed out."

Weiss looked the man over. "A smart decision. Had you attempted anything else, I dare say that you would have been in even more danger than anyone usually is in this dreadful place."

The guard looked at her. "Yeah well…someone has to do it. Risks of the job are a given."

Batman took this opportunity to interrupt them. "Joker went through that door. What's on the other side?" Weiss could hear the anger that slowly filled his voice just by saying the name, making it clear that the two must have been at this strange game of theirs for even longer than she had guessed.

"We call it 'Extreme Isolation'! Only way in is via the transport system."

"Open it!"

"Not a problem." The guard instantly replied. He had dealt with enough insanity to satisfy his evening. The last thing he wanted was to piss off Batman if he could avoid it. As he walked to the control panel behind him, he took a second to properly look over the person accompanying the Caped Crusader.

"I didn't realize Batman was working with anyone here. The world could always use more heroes like you two. I don't care what some of those news stations say."

Weiss tried to object. "This is a temporary arrangement at best, sir."

The guard nodded. "Even so, you're helping to save my buddies who are out of their depth at the moment. That makes you a hero in my book, plain as day."

Hunched over the controls, the man began pressing keys. "Ok" After a few more seconds, he began to get frustrated. "Something's wrong here. The main security loop is locked."

Suddenly, a nearby monitor flashed to show video footage of the very clown they were trying to pursue.

"Having a little trouble up there?" His wide smile practically filled the screen.

"Joker" Batman growled and Weiss noticed him clench his fist tightly at the sight him.

"You were expecting maybe Two-Face?" Joker asked in a dry tone.

Weiss looked at the screen and scoffed. "Does everyone in this place have a ridiculous moniker instead of a proper name?"

Joker grinned even wider than before. "Oh, the naivety of youth! So precious, so innocent, so pure it makes me sick!" He gave a howl of laughter. "There are plenty of people here who don't feel the need to be bound by things such as normal names! Hmm...you remind me of good old Frosty the Joy Kill. Maybe you'll meet him! I'm sure he'll want a closer look at you…"

"There's no escape, Joker." Just like that, Joker's eyes locked back on the Dark Knight with razor sharp focus.

"Silly Bat! I don't want to escape. I'm having WAY too much fun! I even have YOU here to keep a _smile_ on my face!"

"Not for long." Batman growled in return.

Joker put a hand to his chest in mock surprise. "Really? We'll see~. Ta Ta!"

Just as he was about to walk out of shot, Joker paused and leaned into the camera. "Oh! I forgot to say."

With excitement, Joker turned the entire camera towards a screen in the room he occupied. On it was a familiar man.

Weiss took a careful look at the image presented to her. "Is that the Commissioner?"

"Just in case you were planning on following me, I've arranged a little insurance." Joker giggled to himself.

With his back turned, Gordon was struck in the head with a baton being wielded by a man who has been present during Joker's 'turnover' when Batman and Weiss had originally arrived at Arkham Asylum.

"Gordon is on his way to Harley as we speak!"

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Officer Boles."

Joker only laughed as he watched Gordon hit the ground with Boles standing over the officer.

"If I see you trying to follow me, he dies. Harley is looking forward to it." He snapped his fingers in a moment of inspiration. "Maybe I'll film it and post it on the internet!"

Without warning, Joker leaned in so every inch of his face filled the camera and by extension the screen Batman and Weiss were watching.

"I've got to say it, Batsy. It's so good to see you playing nice with someone new again!" A cruel smile spread across his features, teeth bared like some kind of carnival themed hunter. "Do you think she'll last longer than the last one of your playmates I got to spend my special funtime with?!" Joker threw back his head while clutching his stomach, cackling like a hyena.

Just like that, the live feed cut from the camera and the logo for Arkham Asylum returned. This didn't last longer as Batman drove his fist into the screen, caving it inwards in a burst of glass and sparks.

Weiss shuddered. The look of fury she had briefly seen in Batman's expression had chilled her. It didn't last for longer than a second, but the intensity of it had startled her. "It's as if he's not even human."

Batman took a small breath to recompose himself. It was so fast that Weiss almost didn't hear it. "Many have accused him not being one, afraid that he could be anything like them. He's human, but in all of the worst ways."

The Arkham guard was still fiddling with the control panel. "The transport system is down. Best I can do is open the door you came in. Sorry."

Batman gave him a nod before walking outside, flanked by Weiss.

"What are we going to do? We can't just leave the Commissioner in the hands of that brute!"

"We aren't. Boles is greedy, compulsive, and violent. What he isn't would be smart. He'll have left a trail that we can follow."

Weiss rolled her eyes slightly. "Out of everywhere that man could have taken someone prisoner, how do you intend to find them quickly? The architecture of this Asylum is nothing short of lunacy."

"Then we start where we left him. The Holding Cells."

The two walked back through the massive steel doors leading into the room. A chattering teeth toy was marching back and forth in the corridor beyond like a sentry from a toymaker's nightmare. With a flick of the wrist, Batman sent out a Batarang that cut the lethal toy in half.

Suddenly, Batman paused and put two fingers to his ear. Weiss realized he was talking to someone with that ridiculous hidden radio of his.

"Joker 's escaped. He's sealed himself off. He's got Commissioner Gordon!"

A pause.

"Don't worry. I'm getting him back!"

Another pause. This one was slightly longer.

"Oracle, I'm getting him back! Joker will not win. I won't let him." His voice was strong and unyielding, implying that this was simply a fact in Batman's mind instead of comfort to whoever this 'Oracle' person was.

"I'm starting where he was taken. A guard named Frank Boles attacked him. If I find Frank, I'll find Commissioner Gordon."

With that, Batman ended the call.

"You know, I'm really quite curious as to who this 'Oracle' is."

Batman glanced back at her. "Someone that I trust enough to work with."

Weiss crossed her arms. "You still don't trust me? After everything I've done so far?"

Silence greeted her. "Oh you have got to be the most stubborn, patronizing…just ridiculous man I've ever had to share space with!"

"We need to return to the matter at hand. Tracking Boles." His voice was like granite.

"…Fine." The young heiress decided she wouldn't give Batman the benefit of seeing her lose her composure over his irrational behavior.

With that, the two proceeded down the corridor.

 _ **And another chapter is done! It seems Weiss is becoming increasingly curious about exactly who Batman is. I did in fact use a paraphrased version of a quote about heroes that came from Tracer of Overwatch. Her upbeat personality and willingness to do the right thing has always been something that made her an endearing character to me. As for Joker's comment about Weiss reminding him of someone in the Asylum, let's just say that the she will have an encounter with a man who is even colder than someone she had grown up around back on Remnant. In the meantime, Weiss will learn about Batman to understand Joker's mocking comment about playmates. When she gets the answers she seeks, she may find that you should be careful what you ask for. As for Batman himself, every conversation he has with the young Schnee heiress gives him a bit more insight into how to work with her. Can these two cooperate long enough to get to the bottom of this mystery? Find out in the next chapter!**_


	7. Building Trust

_**Hello, once again! I bet you thought I was lost to the sands of time or just forgetting to check in again. Well, I'm still here and still working on new ideas for this story. After having some ideas bounced around with some other authors both on this platform and several others, I believe I've managed to draft out what I want to happen in the future. This chapter is just to keep ideas fresh and to give a good update in the meantime. I hate it when things get too stale for comfort. I promise I'll keep doing my best for all of you in the days ahead of us! ON WITH THE SHOW!**_

If there was one thing that Weiss could safely say she was getting sick of, it was the winding corridors of Arkham Asylum. For a facility toted as being designed to house and rehabilitate the mentally unstable, every square inch that she could see seemed dedicated to making her as uncomfortable as possible. The harsh steel floors that echoed slightly with the footsteps made by the duo, the dim lighting as if there weren't enough lights functioning, and the distinct lack of color of ANY kind made her feel as though she was trapped in some kind of demented maze.

But there was one more…IRRITATING factor that the young Schnee honestly felt justified in wanting to end.

"I bet you're wondering how I did it. Was it a clue the great detective missed?"

Chortling laughter echoed over the intercom system. Joker had made it his own personal game to mock Batman and Weiss as he followed them through the lenses of numerous security cameras scattered along the corridors.

Batman narrowed his eyes but didn't let himself be distracted by the mockery he was being subjected to. No matter how much Joker prodded him, the vigilante refused to give the madman the luxury of seeing a loss of composure in the usually collected Dark Knight.

"Oh, me and Frankie go _way_ back! I got him out of a spot of…bother a few years ago."

Weiss finally snapped. "You'll both be locked up before long, you _horrendous_ excuse for a comedian!"

"Tsk Tsk" Joker sighed slightly. "What is it with the younger generation not understanding good comedy these days, Batsy? My humor has always been top notch! A real crowd killer!" He giggled to himself.

Weiss was about to retort when Batman held up a hand to her, silently raising a finger to his lips as he crouched down. Curious, the huntress in training followed suit.

Around the next corner were two thugs standing in front of a large security door, one of whom was armed with a steel bar he must have pried from a wall. In their proximity were a number of deceased guards, fallen either to the two men standing or to the initial prisoner riots that led to the takeover of Arkham. Weiss felt something in her stomach twist at the sight of the deceased.

Joker continued his happy little rant. "I mean, Boles appreciated my gags more than most! So, when I need security codes or an old man clubbed to the ground, I know JUST the man to ask!"

Batman held up three fingers to her. He lowered one of them, and then another. Upon dropping the last finger, he stood and sent out two Batarangs through the air, the dim Asylum lights catching the reflective metal of his weapons. Each one slammed into the head of a respective inmate, staggering them as they tried to figure out exactly what happened.

Weiss didn't waste a single second. She moved rapidly to the man armed with the steel pipe first, Myrtenaster flicking outwards faster than the eye could track. The blade sliced cleanly through the cheap metal of the cudgel the inmate had armed himself with, leaving him holding a small tube of steel.

Weiss stabbed into the metal floor at her feet and ice bloomed from the point of impact, flowing rapidly across the surface and forming a smooth reflective surface that both thugs suddenly found themselves flailing on in an attempt to maintain balance.

Batman pulled out his grapple gun and fired it at one of the thugs, latching on the material of his pants. A sharp tug sent the man sprawling to the ground, where Batman used him as a human springboard to tackle the remaining thug. His momentum and body weight, combined with the icy floor of the impact zone made by Myrtenaster, caused them to slide directly into the nearest wall where a loud WHUD could be heard. The impact knocked the man out. For a single moment, Weiss had a mental image of a small child riding a sled down a snowy hill into a tree, forming a smile on her face.

A slight groan could be heard and Weiss looked down at the remaining thug who was slowly trying to get on to his hands and knees after Batman had used him as a means to launch himself at the other inmate. Without another thought, Weiss delivered a sharp kick into his face, sending him into unconsciousness.

Batman approached her, a slight cracking following his steps. The ridged footprints he was leaving behind him implied a form of spikes embedded into the soles of his boots in the event that he would need to traverse ice.

"You showed restraint." Again with these infuriatingly short sentences!

"Just because this isn't how I'm used to fighting doesn't mean that I can't adapt to the situation at hand." She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and she smirked. "Or did you think that you were the only one who could be precise?"

"Hmph. We were lucky to get the drop on them this time. You left yourself exposed." If it was even possible, his frown grew even more disapproving. "If they had guns, you would have been shot!"

Weiss crossed her arms. "I can assure you that if these halfwits are the best that Arkham Asylum has to offer, I could very well clean up this facility within the hour."

"It's never that simple. You'd do well to remember that, Ms. Schnee."

The lights on the security door flashed before the mechanism unlocked for the two, revealing the office for Intensive Treatment with an electrified security grate crackling just down the corridor.

"Oracle, I'm at the Holding Cells. I'm setting up a crime scene!"

Weiss was beginning to feel a bit cut out of the equation as she had to endure half of a conversation yet again. This man took himself so seriously but was still one of the most peculiar people she had met.

"Exactly." That single word of agreement ended whatever conversation he was having.

As the two entered the office itself, Batman set up a crime scene using the sensors in his cowl.

Weiss had no such equipment, but also noticed something troubling. "Someone took my Dust!" And it was true, as no matter how hard she looked it was evident that the case that was left with Gordon had been snatched along with the veteran officer himself.

Her proclamation had Batman's attention instantly. "What can you tell me about this…Dust?" Having seen some of her elemental capability, he was already running scenarios of what would happen if the inmates managed to utilize her equipment.

Weiss huffed to herself as she took a seat in a nearby chair, crossing her leg. "It's what gives Hunters and Huntresses the edge they need when fighting the Grimm. Think of them as…oh I don't know, materials corresponding to specific elements."

As she spoke, the Dark Knight scanned the area for any hint of a trail he could follow. "Elements such as fire, water, and so on?"

Weiss nodded. "You have the general idea. Though something more specific requires them to be combined through natural or artificial means."

"Too dangerous for someone so young to use."

She scowled at him in response. "How many times do I have to repeat myself before this makes it through that ridiculous mask of yours? I am a trained Huntress! Not a child swinging a cudgel!"

Batman returned to his search, noticing a spill in the corner of the room by the observation window. A flask had been left behind, the contents of which glistened on the steel floor.

A quick zoom and scan removed any possible doubts. ALCOHOL: 42.03%. WHISKEY: 99.87%.

' _I can follow traces of alcohol from Frank's bourbon in the atmosphere_.' Bruce planned in his head.

"Oracle." He said aloud. "I've got a trail.

"That's great" she replied over his radio. "You follow it. I'm grabbing every reference in Arkham I can find. May be of use later."

When he disconnected the call, he notice Weiss had crossed her arms yet again. Annoyance was a clear mood he could read on her face.

He reached into a compartment on his belt and withdrew what looked like a small microphone before tossing it to Weiss, who caught it out of the air.

"Use that to hear any intel we receive from Oracle. The more we know together, the less of a chance we have at being uncoordinated."

Weiss placed the device in her ear, still longing for something more refined like a scroll she could use instead.

"Oracle." Batman said. "I've handed a communicator to Weiss Schnee, the youth with me at the Asylum. Acknowledge."

A click echoed in her ear as Weiss finally heard Oracle for herself. "Loud and clear. It's a pleasure to meet you, Weiss. I wish it could be under better circumstances."

"Well, I'm just grateful to hear someone who can speak in more than short answers and grunts." She gave a reproachful look towards Batman, who narrowed his eyes slightly in return.

A gentle laugh played over their communicators. "He can be a bit stiff, but you can trust him to help you out of a bad situation." Weiss smiled at that. Finally, someone who she could talk to!

"Focus. We still need to find Boles." And just like that, Weiss felt her frustration begin to return. How exactly could people put UP with this man?

"I'll do what I can on my end. Good luck, you two." The call was disconnected.

 _ **Like many others, I was devastated when hearing the news regarding the passing of Stan Lee. He always did seem like one of those people who would always be around, even though I knew in my heart he would go one day. It didn't make it any easier to hear about, but at least he knew he inspired generations of fans through his work and what comic books mean to people as a whole. We can argue Marvel VS DC until the end of time, but there is one thing that I always keep in my mind. Greatness can come from anywhere, and with the power of imagination these heroes or villains can withstand the test of time. Thank you, Stan Lee. Your legacy will live on for many years to come.**_

 _ **One last time, everyone! All together!  
EXCELSIOR!**_


	8. Getting Triggered

_**Hello, again! It feels so wonderful to finally be back. Did you all miss me? *Ducks as a large number of thrown knives and axes embed themselves in the wall above me* I'm going to take that as a 'maybe'. So, let's get down to business. TO DEFEAT! THE Hu-*Another axe is lodged in the wall above my head with a warning letter from a certain mouse attached* Message received! Loud and clear. Where have I been all this time? In all honesty, I've been trying to get my professional life sorted out. It's been a bit of a mess in more ways than one. Nevertheless, I will not give up on this story. I have plans for it that I hope will one day reach fruition. But to get there, I have to make sure that this story doesn't start collecting dust. I never once stopped thinking about what else I could do to bring this story to life and I think I've finally found the direction I've been looking for.**_

 _ **Without further ado, The Bat and the Ice Queen continues!**_

As Weiss and Batman exited the office, a gentle chime echoed over the intercom system.

"Transport to upper floors is now permitted to staff with correct security clearance." The artificial voice was calm and collected, contrasting sharply with the loss of order in Arkham. "Security level is now at Orange Alpha."

Weiss shook her head. "Shouldn't we be at Red or something more appropriate-?"

"Alpha" The voice interrupted her suddenly. "ALphaa. PhA. Ha ha ha ha." The message became corrupted and died.

Passing another heavy security door, they were greeted by the sight of a security guard fiddling with the controls to the elevator, rising high above their level.

"Stupid, unreliable…!" He turned as Batman approached him, his body language suddenly tense. "How did Joker get -?!"

"Be quiet!" The Caped Crusader held up a hand to the guard, causing the remainder of his angry demand to be cut short.

"What's going on?" The fear in the guard's voice was clear over the anger to the point that even Weiss could register it.

"A madman is running the madhouse." Weiss looked around, wondering what it was that had set Batman's caution off so suddenly.

Batman himself approached the loading area for where the elevator would discharge passengers, his cowl sensors reading the alcohol trail as ending where the main compartment would be. Before he could voice his findings, a figure dropped down from above. They landed with the grace of a trained acrobat on a metal rail in the elevator shaft. With a smug smile and a wild gleam in her eyes was the right-hand woman to the Clown Prince of Crime himself, Harley Quinn.

"Uh, uh, uh, B-Man!" She teased them playfully. "Mr. J doesn't want you following us just yet!"

"How could you be invested in that…that MONSTER?!" Weiss shouted at the absurd clown woman. "The things he's done! The people he's hurt!"

"Don't knock it till you've tried it, Snowflake!" Harley gripped the cable for the elevator in one hand while suddenly pulling out a small detonator. "What can I say? He just lights me up!"

She thumbed the button down. A shrill beeping echoed through the room for half a second before an explosion rocked everyone. The counterweight was destroyed, sending Harley rocketing upwards on her cable with gleeful laughs while a loud screeching heralded the arrival of the elevator itself.

Batman's eyes followed the henchwoman and quickly saw the descending threat. Weiss recognized it as well and began a half jump backwards.

"GET DOWN!" Gripping the guard by the shoulders, Batman threw the man back before turning to Weiss and pushing her to the ground, He covered both himself and the huntress with his flared cape as the elevator crashed into the ground with a deafening impact of torn metal and shattering steel. Dust filled the room along with sparks from broken equipment.

The guard clutched his head as he tried to end the ringing in his ears. "Oww. What the hell happened?"

"Get off of me!" Weiss took this moment to shove Batman away from her as she straightened her combat skirt and brushed off any dirt that lingered on it. "I was going to avoid this perfectly well without you trying to help, thank you!"

Batman turned his back to her with a "Hmph" and looked up the elevator shaft. A familiar voice soon called down mockingly to the group.

"How did ya like that, B-Man? No way you're following us now. You're trapped down there 'til me and Mr. J are ready for ya. Ha ha ha!"

Weiss looked over the ruined elevator and sighed to herself. "How many floors deep are we again?"

Batman glanced up the empty shaft and took note of the ventilation system that lined the walls. "We have a way up." He pulled out his grapple gun and aimed it before a loud gunshot rang out. The shot impacted the tool in Batman's hand, forcing it to the floor.

"Aw shucks, Tom. Ya missed!"

"I did no such thing, Tad. I reckon we can't let them git on by without a scrap first!"

Two men suddenly rappelled into view with climbing gear fastened around their belts. Upon landing, both released them with a click of a button, sending both ropes to the ground. They were an unusual duo, both wearing blue coats and white pants with brown chaps over each leg. White Stetson hats adorned their heads, contrasting with the red neckerchiefs that were securely fastened around each of their necks. But above all else that stood out to Weiss were their faces.

These men…they were perfect twins! From the fire red hair to the strong jaw-line, Weiss couldn't find a single difference to tell them apart.

"Tom and Tad Trigger." Batman glared as he drew a batarang in each hand. "Bank robbery. Assault. Murder."

Tom laughed. "You hear that, Tad? The ol' rodeo clown was right! He does remember us!"  
Tad cracked his knuckles. "And here we were, worried sick that you plum forgot the fastest guns in the west!"

Weiss drew her sword and pointed it at the gunmen.

In Batman's mind, he felt a stir of anger that he usually kept under wraps. Guns. And the cowards that hid behind them. He knew that in the hand of the officers of the law, they served a purpose. In the hands of a soldier, they should defend the innocent. But in the hands of the sadistic, the rats who would hurt others for gain or sport, a fury burned within him.

 _A pistol emerging from the shadows. A man demanding valuables from an innocent family. A struggle. Gunshots echoing like thunder in the alley. Pearls falling._

 _Never again._

Batman threw a batarang at Tad, which the trigger-happy quick shot promptly aimed his revolver towards. In that moment, the Dark Knight was already moving. The shot shatters the batarang, and in that instant a feeling of suspicion blooms. He throws the second and uses that as the distraction he needs to get up close and personal with his opponent, even as that batarang is also shot out of the air. The Trigger Twins were fast. They often boasted as such. But now, they seemed faster. Too fast.

Something was different.

Meanwhile, Tom was unloading his shots at Weiss who was attempting to close the distance between them.

Tom was laughing happily. "Now when did the big ol' grim get hisself a new kid? Gotta be Snow White, right?"

"I am Weiss Schnee, and I have faced FAR worse than you!" She swung her sword down, expecting her motion to force the Trigger Twin backwards. She was shocked when, instead, he brought both revolver barrels above his head and CAUGHT her sword between them! "That…that's not-"

"My turn!" He lashed out savagely with his foot, catching her in the stomach with enough force to knock the wind out of her.

Bruce was having similar difficulties. The Twins were faster, but with every punch he landed on Tad, the quick draw was recovering too quickly. Left hook, right hook, and suddenly his arm was caught. Tad flipped Batman over his back and onto the ground. An instinctive sweep of his leg to knock the Trigger Twin off balance was all that saved Bruce from being gunned down where he lay.

Weiss moved her sword up in a guard position just as Tom aimed both his revolvers. Her sword didn't cut the steel of his guns, but she could figure out why later. She had to disarm him! A flick to the left and she forced one shot to go into the wall. A flick to the right and the follow up shot went directly into the floor. But for every strike against one gun, he was already bringing the opposite back to kill the Schnee heiress.

 _I'm a Huntress in training._ Tom swung down with one of his guns in an effort to bludgeon her with it, making her step back.

 _I've faced down rampaging Grimm and armed assailants._ She quickly flipped backwards, the tip of her left shoe catching her opponent in the chin and staggering him.

 _And I'm not going to lose to some ruffian!_ Glyphs formed at her feet before she dashed forward at incredible speeds. Shaking his head, Tom noticed similar shapes forming in the air around him before recognizing the rapidly approaching threat.

"Wut in tarnation?!" Before the Trigger Twin could even bring his guns to bear, Weiss slashed him with Myrtenaster across the chest. Not giving even a moment for her opponent to counter, she rocketed between each of the floating glyphs. A slash to the back, his arms, his legs, and suddenly he was lifted from his feet through the impacts he was taking.

Batman managed to roll over Tad's back after the maniac attempted to tackle him to the ground and witnessed Weiss's savage barrage against her opponent.

 _Her movements must mean she's some sort of metahuman._ His thoughts briefly flashed to the red blur in Central City he had begun studying, as well as the mysterious strong man of Metropolis reportedly seen flying and wielding incredible strength.

Tad attempted to get another shot off against Batman before the Caped Crusader smashed the gunman's hand aside with a fist and retaliated with a head butt.

"Things are different now! Tom and I are stronger! Faster!" A wild light seemed to flash in the Trigger Twin's eyes.

 _I have to end this. Now!_

Back with Weiss, she formed one final glyph above Tom and dashed downwards. A final slash and the sheer impact drove him into the steel floor with a loud CRASH. He began to shakily stand up again.

"Weiss! Coat the floor!" Not even skipping a beat, she slammed her sword into the floor as she had done before. Crackling ice formed across the steel surface and turned the former elevator loading bay into a makeshift ice rink.

Both Trigger Twins were suddenly flailing their arms as the very terrain seemed to turn against them.

"Throw him towards me!" Batman fired his grappling hook at Tad, hooking it around his arm. A sharp pull and the hapless gunman found himself gliding over the ice rapidly. Trying to get another shot, his target suddenly dropped onto his back just as Tad began to fall on top of him. The Dark Knight caught him with his boots against his chest and, using the momentum gained from his impromptu skating, threw the criminal forward at high speed with his legs.

Weiss, catching on immediately, gave Tom another strike to his back and sent the remaining Trigger Twin flying forwards.

Both men were confused before they saw they were on track for a mid-air collision!

"WHOAAA!"

"WHOAAA!"

CRASH. Both Tom and Tad slammed headfirst into each other and fell to the ground with stars shining in their eyes.

"N…no fair…" Tom grumbled as he looked up to see Batman looming overhead with a deep scowl,

"Y-yeah…do over…" Tad chimed in as he saw Weiss glaring down at him.

In perfect unison, Batman and Weiss knocked both Trigger Twins unconscious. Batman drove a fist into Tom's face while Weiss gave a sharp kick to the side of Tad's head.

It was over.

Weiss let out a breath as Batman began tying the brothers up back to back. "Well. That was certainly…interesting."

"Something was wrong." Batman knelt down to the twins and examined them. "The Trigger Twins were moving faster than they should have been. And they absorbed more punishment than a normal human should be able to take without extensive protection."

Weiss considered how her own battle had gone. "The durability that they had seemed to put them on par with some students I've sparred with at Beacon Academy. But the students had Aura.."

Batman opened a compartment on his belt and withdrew two small needles one would associate with a hospital. Leaning over the twins, he took a blood sample from each man before using specially designed forensic tools to scan each sample.

He activated his communicator. "Oracle. I'm transmitting some blood results from Tom and Tad Trigger." As he spoke, he uploaded the results in question through a server in the Batcave he knew she could pull the results from. "Search for any evidence of genetic tampering."

Oracle's voice chimed over their radios. "I'll take a look. Keep safe, you two."

Weiss took this moment to explain. "Aura is something connecting to the soul of a person. Think of a passive energy field created by the soul that can protect the body."

"Does everyone have this ability where you're from?" The idea that entire nations could be classified as metahumans was…troubling. How much destruction could be caused if there was an attack? He was only one man. He would certainly never surrender, but he wasn't stubborn enough to try and fight an entire country alone. Not without a plan, at least.

 _She mentioned she has a team where she came from._ He thought to himself. _If the next visitors are less inclined to do the right thing, Earth may need a response team of its own…_

The Schnee heiress almost felt ridiculous explaining something that she felt was very common knowledge before shaking her head slightly. The entire situation was ridiculous, so this should be no different in her eyes. "Not everyone, no. Hunters and Huntresses develop it so they can avoid serious injury and even heal themselves."

Frowning to himself, Batman considered this as he looked down at Tom and Tad Trigger. "Then they were fighting with Aura."

Weiss nodded. "Though it wasn't as strong as I've seen from others, it was definitely present. They were shaking off strikes that rendered the inmates I used them on before unconscious."

"That would explain how they stayed in the fight. But how did they manage to obtain it?"

Weiss opened her mouth before pausing and closing it again. "I'm still not sure about that."

Oracle's voice suddenly interrupted their discussion.

"I've been going over the blood samples you took from the Trigger Twins and you've got to hear this." She started. "Their DNA isn't _altered_ , per say. It's almost been fortified. The basic structure is unchanged but there are other elements at work. I've never seen anything like it!"

"I'll let you know if we find anything else, Oracle."

"I'll keep searching for other results in the meantime. Stay safe, you two." With that, the connection ended.

"The more I hear from this 'Oracle', the more I think I like her." Weiss smiled to herself. "A proverbial eye in the sky must be nice to have."

"We're getting off topic." He responded. Batman picked up one of the fallen revolvers that he was nearly killed by. "Your sword was able to cut through steel with ease, but couldn't cut through this."

Weiss glanced at it with a slight look of disdain. "Myrtenaster should have torn through it. I'm fairly certain that no one in this world should have materials that can withstand it."

Batman activated the sensors in his cowl to scan the gun in question.

METALURGY: Steel: 50.35%. Promethium: 49.65%

"You'd be surprised." He gathered the weapons and put them in the shaking hands of the nearby Arkham guard, who had been standing in numb silence throughout the entire debacle. "These guns were made with Promethium. A very strong, very expensive metal."

Weiss began to put it together. "And if they didn't just get lucky and steal the material they needed…"

Batman finished the idea for her. "Then someone helped them obtain it. As if they knew the Trigger Twins would face someone on a metahuman level."

"But that doesn't make any sense! I've never even heard of Gotham City before I arrived, so how could they have been preparing for me?"

Batman felt a slight pit form in his stomach. "Perhaps your arrival wasn't as random as either of us believed until now."

Silence reigned for a few uncomfortable moments before Weiss finally broke it.

"I…I _am_ going to be able to return home…aren't I…?" The uncertainty in her voice rang clearly and she hated it. She had been operating under the impression that this entire adventure was a delay. Something she could navigate with time to spare. To never see Remnant again? To never see her friends again? That felt…wrong. Ruby would have given a declaration that they could accomplish anything if they worked together. Yang with her optimism would have just cracked a joke about how they should focus on cleaning up the "Arkham Circus" to blow off some steam and lighten the mood. Blake would have insisted on focusing on the need to stop the dangers plaguing Arkham and could have even been a kindred spirit to Batman!

But herself? She was Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company…which didn't exist here. Huntress who battled the Grimm…which didn't exist here. Member of Team RWBY…which didn't exist here. What was she supposed to do if she was trapped here? She prided herself on being a cool and logical mind on her team and logic wasn't telling her anything comforting at this moment.

Batman looked at Weiss with a withheld expression before he put his hand on her shoulder. "I promise that I won't give up until you're home."

Weiss took a slow breath to steady her nerves. "Well, we should get back to stopping whatever that foul clown has in mind for this facility." She smiled in an effort to return to familiar territory. A mission was something she could focus on.

Batman nodded before taking a look at what used to be the elevator. "We may need to improvise."

Weiss kicked a small piece of rubble to the side. "We certainly aren't going be using the lift anytime soon. What do you have in mind?"

The Dark Knight pulled out his grappling hook. "Gordon was taken up to the surface in the elevator." His eyes moved up the dimly lit shaft. "If we want to follow them, we need to do this the old fashioned way."

Bruce stepped to the still shaken guard. The name tag labled him as Henry Smith. To his credit, Smith was managing to keep a relatively calm demeanor even if his eyes were wide and constantly moving.

"I take it this is Joker's doing." He stated. He almost spat the name of the madman out.

"Who else?" Bruce asked.

"I told 'em. He's a monster. They should fry him!"

"We'll stop him." Weiss assured the man. "He won't have the last laugh tonight."

The Dark Knight gestured to the weapons he gave to the guard. "Keep those somewhere secure so that no one gets their hands on them."

Smith nodded quickly. "I will, I promise. Give that freak a punch for me!"

Batman aimed his grappling hook into the shaft above and fired it. The hook found purchase and a tug drew the line tight. "Have you ever been rock climbing before, Ms. Schnee?"

Weiss smiled. "With a little Dust and skill, I don't have any need for climbing equipment. Do try to keep up." With that, she formed another white glyph beneath her feet and leapt upwards at great speed.

 _A teen with skill and a need to flaunt it in front of me._ Batman thought to himself. For a brief moment, he remembered other moments like that over the years. Moments that he had shared with Barbara, Tim, Dick, and…

 _Stay focused on the task at hand._ He reminded himself.

From a ledge above him, Weiss called down. "I'm not going too fast for you, am I?" Her humor came through clear and strong.

For a brief moment, Bruce felt the ghost of a smirk form on his face before it vanished. Activating the reel function of his grappling hook, he was lifted off his feet and into the shadows above.

 _ **As you've no doubt noticed, I'm going to be going off script slightly. I'll do my best to remain true to the game, but I want to have a chance to open up the Arkham Universe a bit in terms of how much the DC Universe exists around it. It's a rich world that exists in the comics, so it only makes sense to have a little bit of fun along the way.**_


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